Two centuries and a half after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a new advertisement from Google imagines what might have happened if the Founding Fathers had access to Google Workspace. With the slogan “Group project, but make it 1776,” the commercial shows a largely unseen Thomas Jefferson in the middle of drafting the document when he receives a persistent text from Ben Franklin, kicking off a highly Google-driven collaboration. Edits are suggested in Google Docs, a meeting is scheduled via Google Calendar and held remotely through Google Meet (with every attendee apparently turning off their camera), and the entire document is finalized using e-signatures—cue the fireworks. Naturally, since this is a tech company ad in 2026, artificial intelligence also plays a part. The fictional founders use Google’s “help me visualize” AI tool to experiment with different animals for the national seal, Gemini takes notes during the meeting, and the founders even ask the chatbot for advice before denying King George III’s request for document access. The tone is thoroughly tongue-in-cheek—at one point, Sam Adams asks, “Can we settle this over beers?”—and the AI promotion is relatively restrained compared to many recent ads, including a controversial Google commercial where a father uses Gemini to write a fan letter for his daughter. Perhaps the most AI-forward aspect of the commercial is the footage itself, which has the uncanny sheen of AI-generated video. While viewer comments on YouTube and Instagram appear mostly positive, the reaction on Bluesky has been, unsurprisingly, far more critical. Posters have called the ad “cringey” and “stunningly tone deaf,” with the AI angle drawing the most fire—even as many users, including historian Angus Johnston, observed that it’s “amazing how little of this is actually AI.”

“Even in a corny fantasy joke, it’s impossible to make the case that AI is a useful tool for political organizing, writing, or human collaboration,” Johnston said.