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Think About This

A podcast that challenges you to think differently about business, money, culture, technology, media

10/11/2024

OpenAI plans to integrate SearchGPT into ChatGPT by the end of this year. Initially launched as a prototype in July, SearchGPT combines real-time search capabilities with conversational AI providing direct answers, summaries, and contextual insights as opposed to a list of links. The chat interface allows users to ask followup questions and the system links citations to the output ensuring transparency (and the preservation of link-based search).

Varun Shetty, OpenAI’s head of media partnerships, highlighted that the integration will focus on driving “significant incremental traffic from new audiences” to publishers, with no immediate plans for ad revenue sharing. Instead, OpenAI will compensate publishers through increased clicks and traffic.

The shift towards a conversational search model like SearchGPT will change SEO practices. Content strategies will need to adapt, focusing on creating context-rich, engaging content that aligns with user intent rather than simply optimizing for keywords. High-quality content and earned media will play an even more critical role, as SearchGPT prioritizes information from authoritative sources. This could offer brands more opportunities to be featured prominently in AI-generated search responses or it could exacerbate the erosion of trust as search results increasingly become “pay for play.” Time will tell.

Google’s AI Overviews are not the answer. The fact that Google will not properly rank your pages if you opt-out of having your content scraped for AI training means that Google will ultimately be forced (by regulators or by the market itself) to figure out how to get it right.

Perplexity and the half-dozen other chat-based search tools are showing our friends in Mountain View that there’s room for a new type of search – they (Google) are not going to lay down and die over this. Big G will work hard to preserve its $175 Billion of annual search revenue. Get your popcorn, this show is going to be fun to watch.

10/10/2024

The DOJ has proposed significant measures to address Google’s dominance in search, marking the biggest antitrust action since its 1999 case against Microsoft. The DOJ’s goal is to reduce Google’s control by potentially forcing it to divest key assets like Chrome and Android, both owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc.

Proposed steps to dismantle what the DOJ describes as an illegal monopoly include restricting Google’s data collection, requiring it to share search indexes with competitors, and allowing websites to opt out of content use for AI training.

If enforced, these remedies would weaken Google’s core revenue streams and limit its AI capabilities, which depend heavily on user data. The impact has already been felt in the market, with Alphabet shares falling 1.5% on news of the DOJ’s proposals.

Not to worry, this will be in court for years. Is it a good idea to weaken American AI innovation as the race for global AI dominance is heating up? Can Google actually survive and prosper in a world where link-based search (Google main source of revenue) is already under attack from every AI model in the world (including their own, BTW)?

The only thing the DOJ’s 1999 Microsoft case accomplished was opening up tens of thousands of unnecessary cyberattack vectors as it forced Microsoft to separate Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer into separate products. Microsoft is still a total monopoly and is still one of the biggest and most valuable companies in the world. And, their founders are some of the richest people in the world. Will history repeat itself?

10/09/2024

Meta has launched Movie Gen, a new AI-powered video creation tool for small businesses. Movie Gen allows users to generate video content from prompts, edit existing videos, and add synchronized sound effects and music. It will not be available for open developer use but is intended for collaboration with the entertainment industry and content creators.

The big win for businesses is lower production costs – not only direct reduction of non-working media budgets, but also a significant decrease in the workflow timelines and an even more significant reduction in the number of people who will have to be involved.

Movie Gen joins other AI video generation tools such as OpenAI’s Sora, Google’s Lumiere, Runway Gen-2, Stability AI’s Stable Video Diffusion, Pika Labs, and Nvidia’s Vid2Vid, but it is purpose built to help users quickly create video ads suitable for Facebook and Instagram.

The value of generative AI video tools is clear. The only question is, “When will one of these tools suit your needs.” For many, the answer will be Meta’s Movie Gen. And, remember, today is the worst these tools will ever be. They will all improve exponentially.

10/08/2024

Apple has released iOS and iPadOS 18.1 beta 6. The update allows developers (and any beta program users) to test a host of new features (including Apple Intelligence). The official date for the public release of 18.1 has not been announced. However, the rumor mill says October 28. In the meantime here’s what’s coming:

The update introduces enhanced writing tools integrated with Apple Intelligence. Accessible wherever text can be selected and edited, these tools offer spell checking, grammar correction, tone rewriting, and text summarization.

Siri receives a refreshed design featuring a subtle glow around the display, enhancing visual interaction. The new “Type to Siri” feature allows users to interact with Siri without speaking, providing convenience in situations where speaking out loud isn’t ideal. Siri has also improved in understanding user input, even if there are pauses or corrections, and can maintain context between consecutive requests. (Siri still sucks, but it sucks a lot less).

Safari now includes the ability to summarize articles, helping users quickly grasp the main points of lengthy content. Additionally, a new “Reduce Interruptions” Focus Mode has been introduced to minimize distractions by filtering non-essential notifications, allowing users to concentrate better on tasks at hand.

Smart replies are now available in both Messages and Mail apps, offering quick, contextually appropriate responses. The Mail app has been updated to surface time-sensitive messages, placing them at the top of your inbox to ensure important communications are not missed.

The Photos app introduces a “Memory Movie” feature, enabling users to create personalized slideshows based on text descriptions. Audio recording capabilities have been expanded, allowing users to record, transcribe, and summarize audio recordings, enhancing accessibility and usability.

For iPhone 15 Pro users, the update adds the option to take spatial photos, providing a new dimension to mobile photography by capturing depth and spatial data for a more immersive experience.

While several new features are available now, others like Image Playground and Genmoji are yet to be implemented. (Note: Apple Intelligence requires an iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 to run).

10/04/2024

We always talk about Large Language Models (LLMs), but now, we’re deploying more and more Small Language Models (SLMs) and Small Action Models (SAMs). So, here are three definitions that will come in handy for any AI-focused cocktail conversation you may have this weekend.

LLMs are broad, general-purpose models trained on extensive datasets. They excel at language comprehension and generation, making them the backbone of applications like chatbots and customer service automation. Use cases include content creation, automated translation, and summarizing large volumes of text. For example, LLMs are the underlying technologies for tools like ChatGPT.

SLMs are more specialized, secure, and focused on specific tasks. They are derived from LLMs but are enhanced with knowledge graphs and domain-specific data to suit particular applications. A common use case is in the healthcare sector, where SLMs can securely handle patient data and provide tailored responses for medical queries. In enterprise environments, they facilitate internal knowledge management by tapping into company-specific datasets, offering accurate, context-specific insights.

SAMs take things further by acting as dynamic agents. They combine the best of SLMs and LLMs to autonomously execute tasks aligned with business objectives. For instance, a SAM could automate a marketing campaign by analyzing customer interactions, predicting trends, and triggering personalized messages. These models can also optimize supply chain management by making real-time decisions based on evolving data patterns.

That’s a quick vocab lesson. While LLMs are big and famous, SLMs and SAMs are quietly shaping the future of AI by delivering more precise, secure, and actionable insights for various specialized applications.

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Think About This with Shelly Palmer & Ross Martin

A podcast that challenges you to think differently about business, money, culture, technology, media, marketing, and more. Hosted by Shelly Palmer and Ross Martin. The more you listen, the less you know!