AI Takes Over Super Bowl Ads, NYC to Fight Back

AI took center stage at Super Bowl LX, with commercials from competing companies like Anthropic and OpenAI vying for attention, while New York lawmakers considered bills to regulate the burgeoning industry. The Seattle Seahawks faced off against the New England Patriots on Sunday, February 8th, 2026, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, but the focus extended far beyond the game itself.

The commercial breaks featured a heavy emphasis on artificial intelligence, much like the crypto craze of previous years, according to The Verge. One ad, from Anthropic, took aim at its competitors, including OpenAI. The game, broadcast on NBC and Peacock, also saw an ad from Google, which had previously fumbled a Gouda cheese fact in a prior Super Bowl.

Meanwhile, the New York state legislature was deliberating on two bills aimed at regulating the AI industry. One bill would mandate labels on AI-generated content, while the other proposed a three-year pause on new data center construction, as reported by The Verge. This move reflects growing bipartisan concerns about the rapid expansion of AI data centers.

Beyond the game and the ads, the Super Bowl also served as a backdrop for other major events. Amazon MGM Studios released a final trailer for its upcoming space odyssey, "Project Hail Mary," based on Andy Weir's 2021 novel, as noted by Ars Technica. The game also saw an explosion in sports trading activity on sites like Kalshi and Polymarket, according to Wired.

The setting itself, in the heart of Silicon Valley, highlighted the influence of tech giants like Nvidia and AMD, whose chips are powering the AI arms race. The event, as Wired put it, came at a "charged time in American culture and politics."