I don't think anyone would have flinched at setting the stage like "At IBM we're working on technology so that some day your interaction with a computer can be as simple as sitting down and having a conversation."
Setting expectations you cannot meet is something you try to avoid in Marketing. Because you get angry op eds like the one that kicked off this conversation.
Like those old AT&T commercials (available on YouTube) where AT&T made all kinds of predictions about the future that seemed crazy in the 1980's, but are reality 35 years later. Video calls, instant electronic toll booth payment, etc...
/ R.I.P, AT&T.
Totally crap, especially since tmobile runs ads that have pink background and 1 word on the screen:
UNLIMITED
No. Its not unlimited. I know because I paid 25 extra dollars for a month for their international plan. Truly unlimited.