4A's Noteworthy News - 14th Edition
THE BIG STORY:
Google beats OpenAI to voice punch, launches new Pixel phones and Gemini Live
This week, Google made significant waves with its latest announcements, revealing new AI-driven features and the launch of the Pixel 9 lineup. Gemini AI will power an expanded suite of capabilities across the new Pixel devices. With Apple announcing Apple Intelligence back in June, the race for mobile AI integration is heating up. The Pixel 9 series, featuring models like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Pixel 9 XL, is designed with AI at its core, offering enhanced user experiences through voice-controlled assistance, on-device AI processing, and deep integration with Android's ecosystem.
One of the standout features is Gemini Live, a conversational AI experience that provides hands-free, real-time assistance. Gemini Live isn't limited to just Android users; it also rolls out to iOS, broadening its reach and ensuring that users across platforms can take advantage of this powerful AI tool. Whether it's managing schedules, answering questions, or providing contextual help, Gemini Live allows users to interact with their devices in a more natural and intuitive way.
These and related announcements signal a new era in mobile technology, where AI isn't just an add-on but a fundamental component of the user experience. As AI and mobile come together, it’s interesting to note the many parallels that can be drawn between the smartphone revolution that kicked off in 2007 and the AI transformation we are experiencing today. Wharton recently published a very interesting article on this topic, written by Julie Ask and Scott Snyder. Definitely worth a read.
If you’d like to explore implications for the advertising industry in more detail, visit the 4A’s AI/GenAI hub, or reach out to chat with one of our experts.
OTHER INTERESTING AI NEWS FOR AGENCIES:
A recent study suggests that even the best AI models hallucinate a bunch - careful prompt engineering may help mitigate this issue, but it’s another illustration of why human oversight remains important.
Artists suing generative artificial intelligence art generators have cleared a major hurdle in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit over the uncompensated and unauthorized use of billions of images downloaded from the internet to train AI systems, with a federal judge allowing key claims to move forward.
Even as some suggest the road to ROI on AI investments is littered with challenges, new research from Google and National Research Group shows strong ROI for early adopters. One interesting stat from the study: almost half (45%) of executives who reported improved productivity indicated that employee productivity has at least doubled as a result of gen AI rollouts at their organizations.
Related to our commentary last week about the maturing AI market and signs of consolidation, Crunchbase had a nice piece this week on AI Startup Deal making.
Meta revealed more details on VFusion3D, a powerful AI system for 3D model creation from a single image or text prompt.
Wired reports on a new ranking of AI models based on risk factors.
Stanford University finds that AI models are still biased toward English speakers and western values, reinforcing the importance of bias training and mitigation.
SAG-AFTRA deal will let advertisers replicate actors' voices with AI - Performers will get to choose which brands to work with and how much to charge.
RECENT AI CAMPAIGNS AND AGENCY USE CASES:
Inside DDB’s AI tools and how its creatives are using them to find good ideas — and bad ones, featuring Global Head of Technology George Strakhov
New Balance leverages AI for targeted summer campaign via MediaHub and Silverpush
Depop and Selfridges are stitching AI analytics into second-hand fashion
