Catch up on select AI news and developments from the past week or so (in no particular order):
Salesforce acquires AI voice agent firm Tenyx to boost AI capabilities. Salesforce has announced the acquisition of Tenyx, a startup specializing in AI-powered voice agents, to enhance its AI-driven solutions. The deal, expected to close in Q3, comes as Salesforce seeks to accelerate revenue growth by investing in AI talent, following moves by Microsoft and Amazon in the competitive AI landscape. Importance for marketers: This acquisition reflects the growing demand for AI tools to improve customer engagement and operational efficiency, a trend marketers should monitor for potential applications in customer service and beyond.
UK regulator approves Microsoft’s partnership with Inflection AI. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has cleared Microsoft’s partnership with AI startup Inflection AI, following a probe into competition concerns. The deal, which involves Microsoft’s hiring of Inflection’s former staff, highlights its strategic move to enhance AI capabilities. The CMA found no significant impact on competition in the UK market. Importance for marketers: This approval paves the way for more AI-driven innovation, which could influence marketing tools and consumer engagement strategies, emphasizing the importance of keeping up with AI developments.
OpenAI co-founder Sutskever’s new AI startup raises $1 billion to advance AI safety. Safe Superintelligence (SSI), co-founded by OpenAI’s Ilya Sutskever, has raised $1 billion to develop safe AI systems. The startup aims to build a trusted team to research AI safety and address concerns over potential AI risks. With major investors backing the initiative, SSI focuses on foundational AI research and ethical considerations. Importance for marketers: As AI continues to evolve, marketers must understand the ethical implications and ensure their AI tools align with consumer trust and safety expectations.
Regulators use mathematical benchmarks to assess AI safety risks. New regulations require AI systems performing at 10 to the 26th floating-point operations per second to be reported to the US government. This threshold aims to identify AI models that could potentially pose security risks, such as enabling cyberattacks or developing weapons. Some criticize these measures as arbitrary, yet they represent a significant step toward governing advanced AI technologies. Importance for marketers: Marketers need to be aware of regulatory shifts that could impact AI-powered marketing tools, data security, and compliance practices.
AI may boost worker productivity rather than replace jobs. Companies like Alorica are adopting AI tools to enhance efficiency, allowing customer service representatives to handle multilingual support without reducing workforce size. The AI impact might be akin to past technological advances that initially caused job shifts but eventually created new roles. While some jobs may change or be replaced, AI is likely to enhance productivity and provide new opportunities. Importance for marketers: Understanding AI’s role in augmenting rather than replacing human jobs can help marketers position AI tools as enhancers of workforce capability, improving customer service and operational efficiency.
California passes new laws to regulate AI and combat deepfakes. California lawmakers have approved multiple AI-related proposals, including measures to ban deepfakes in elections, protect workers from AI-generated content, and impose safety guardrails on AI models. The legislation requires transparency in AI data usage and sets standards to prevent algorithmic discrimination. Governor Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign these proposals into law. Importance for marketers: Marketers must stay informed about evolving AI regulations, particularly concerning deepfakes and data transparency, which could impact advertising practices and content creation.
Elon Musk’s xAI launches Colossus, the world’s largest Nvidia GPU supercomputer. Elon Musk’s AI venture xAI has deployed Colossus, a supercomputer with 100,000 Nvidia H100 processors, to train its large language model, Grok. The system is designed to be the most powerful AI training platform, with plans to double its capacity soon. The move underscores Musk’s ambition to lead the AI race, potentially integrating Grok with Tesla’s projects. Importance for marketers: This development highlights the intensifying competition in AI capabilities, influencing the tools and technologies available for marketing and customer engagement.
Google launches Gemini’s Gems and Imagen 3 with advanced AI capabilities. Google introduces Gems, customizable AI tools for specialized tasks, and Imagen 3, an upgraded image generation model. These features are rolling out to Gemini Advanced subscribers, offering capabilities from content creation to coding assistance. Imagen 3 includes new functionalities for generating photorealistic images and supports multiple languages. Importance for marketers: These new AI tools provide marketers with advanced content creation and customization options, enhancing personalization and engagement strategies across various platforms.
Google’s Gemini Gems AI experts to enhance SEO strategies. Google’s new Gemini Gems feature allows users to create AI-driven experts to perform specific SEO tasks, such as analyzing website content and identifying optimization opportunities. By integrating tools like Screaming Frog and offering tailored content suggestions, Gems can help improve search engine rankings and content quality. Importance for marketers: The introduction of customizable AI experts offers marketers a powerful new tool to optimize SEO efforts, streamline content creation, and improve website performance.
Major publishers block Apple’s AI scraping tool over data usage concerns. Prominent news outlets and social platforms, including the New York Times, Wired, and Vox Media, are blocking Applebot-Extended, a tool that uses their data for AI training. This move reflects concerns over intellectual property and the broader implications of AI data usage. Some publishers are permitting AI scraping only through formal partnerships. Importance for marketers: As content ownership becomes a critical issue, marketers should be aware of the evolving landscape of data usage rights and its impact on digital marketing and content strategies.
Apple considers investing in OpenAI amid plans to integrate ChatGPT into iOS 18. Apple is negotiating to invest in OpenAI as part of a new funding round, alongside plans to integrate ChatGPT with iOS 18. The integration would allow Siri to use ChatGPT for complex queries, enhancing Apple’s AI capabilities. This move is seen as a strategic partnership to stay competitive in the AI race. Importance for marketers: The integration of advanced AI like ChatGPT into mainstream devices could revolutionize digital marketing by providing new opportunities for personalized customer engagement and interaction.
ChatGPT surpasses 200 million weekly active users, fueled by Apple partnership. OpenAI’s ChatGPT has reached over 200 million weekly users, doubling its user base since November 2023. The growth is expected to accelerate with its integration into Apple’s iOS 18, enabling seamless AI-driven user experiences. The collaboration highlights ChatGPT’s increasing role in everyday applications, from education to problem-solving. Importance for marketers: As generative AI becomes more widely adopted, marketers can harness these tools for content creation, customer engagement, and personalized marketing strategies.
Amazon partners with Anthropic’s AI to upgrade Alexa. Amazon is set to launch a new version of Alexa, powered by Anthropic’s Claude AI models, to enhance its ability to answer complex queries. The revamped Alexa, expected to be released in October, aims to offer a premium experience with a subscription model while maintaining a free basic version. This partnership reflects Amazon’s strategy to compete in the AI market by integrating external AI solutions. Importance for marketers: Marketers should note the shift toward AI-driven voice assistants, which could become valuable platforms for brand engagement and personalized customer interactions.
OpenAI appoints Chris Lehane as head of global policy. OpenAI has appointed Chris Lehane, a seasoned political strategist and former Airbnb executive, as its vice-president of global policy. This move comes amid new fundraising efforts and potential investments from Apple and Nvidia, positioning OpenAI to navigate complex regulatory landscapes and expand its global influence. Importance for marketers: The appointment signals OpenAI’s focus on shaping global AI policy, which could influence how AI tools and technologies are developed and used in marketing and other industries.
You can find the previous issue of AI Update here.
Editor’s
note: GPT-4o was used to help compile this week’s AI
Update.
