Artificial Intelligence

In the US, 56% of executives believe AI technology comes with either significant or somewhat significant potential risk. Another 19% view the risk as moderate, while 26% think the threat is minimal. No executive surveyed believes AI is entirely without risk.

Clearview AI settles case with ACLU: The controversial company promises not to sell its facial recognition database to most US businesses. Continued regulatory pushback could accelerate its pivot into ID verification.

Brands and retailers are adopting new technologies as they pursue supply chain optimization: Kraft Heinz, UPS, and Amazon are looking to AI, the cloud, and other tools to streamline operations.

The factory has eyes: Startup Invisible AI will deploy its computer vision analytics system in all of Toyota’s factories in North America. But the unprecedented insight could have some downsides.

More trouble in Google’s Brain: The tech giant fired a researcher after he questioned an AI paper. It’s the latest controversial firing that’s helping erode confidence in Big Tech.

Rooting out bias in machine learning models: Arize’s Bias Tracing can benefit healthcare and financial services by mapping systems and flagging instances of bias and their root causes.

AI’s invisible hand: Skopai is the latest example of companies using AI to predict economic outcomes. However, more than a tool, AI could become an economic factor.

Close to half of US adults believe widespread use of driverless cars would be bad for society. Meanwhile, 26% think it’d be good for autonomous vehicles to rule the roads, and 29% aren’t sure.

Add robotaxis to the list of upcoming Tesla products: Struggles with fully autonomous driving, delivering on schedule, and safety are huge roadblocks to Tesla’s robotaxi flex.

Restaurants are experimenting with robots, but customers aren’t enthused: Labor crunches and high costs are pushing fast-food chains like Chipotle and Panera Bread to adopt automation front and back of house.

Panera’s new AI uses sensors, algorithms, and analytics to ensure coffee is optimally brewed: Restaurants are leaning into AI and automation, but will long-term effects lead to reduced hospitality and fewer customers?

Google continues to court consumers with a new visual shopping feature: The tech giant’s multisearch capability helps fend off competition from social media platforms by simplifying product discovery.

California law challenges bias in AI hiring tools: Proposed amendments could make AI decision-making tools illegal for screening protected-class applicants—but would also slow down hiring processes on a monumental scale.

Talk-to-code is coming: A radical CodeGen initiative by Salesforce is underway to turn programming into a conversational task anyone can do. The era of the keyboard is ending.

As of January 2022, 35% of people ages 12 and over in the US own a smart speaker, up just 2 percentage points from the year before. That’s following an increase of 6 percentage points year over year in 2021.

Nearly half of marketers have increased their AI-related CX spending: Customer service and custom content are two of a few priority investment areas for companies.

Retailers haven’t given up trying to make voice shopping happen: Amazon Prime users can now receive notifications about upcoming discounts and schedule purchases in advance.

Tripadvisor used conversational AI technology for a campaign executed on voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant with the goal of maintaining engagement during the pandemic, according to Adam Ochman, global head of marketing at Tripadvisor.