Another week of a flurry of generative AI developments. Adweek’s weekly AI roundup captures the latest news, regulatory proceedings, and business developments revolving around generative AI.
This week’s update:
On the policy side
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna called for Washington to hold AI companies accountable for the harms stemming from their technology, signaling a shift in the ongoing debate over AI regulation, according to Politico. Krishna acknowledged that his own company would not be exempted from legal exposure under the regulations he endorses. However, IBM’s risk compared to those of AI companies such as OpenAI is comparatively low since IBM builds AI models for other businesses. This is unlike the publicly accessible model of ChatGPT which is more accessible to people and, thus susceptible to AI harm.
On the tech side
- BBC plans to block OpenAI’s web crawlers and those from Common Crawl from accessing BBC websites, U.K’s largest news organisation announced earlier this week. However, Rhodri Talfan Davies, the BBC’s director of nations said in the blog post that the broadcaster holds the belief that this technology presents opportunities to deliver “greater value to our audiences and society.”
- Adobe unveiled a host of fresh tools within its Firefly suite, a portfolio that, according to the company, has produced over 3 billion images since March, per reports by Adweek. These tools enable marketers to speed up tasks like creating mood boards and product mock-ups, Adobe told Adweek.
- Elsewhere, the collision of generative AI with ad agencies revealed an awkward reality, reported Adweek, highlighting the inundation of pitches touting this technology. A sense of skepticism is emerging among marketers, stemming from frustrations regarding the areas in which these tools still require improvements, along with concerns about a growing homogenization of AI-produced work. This development has tempered the widespread enthusiasm surrounding the technology, as noted by eight agencies.
- Gymshark turns heads towards generative AI. The U.K.-based fitness apparel and accessories brand announced that it will utilize Google Cloud’s AI platform, Vertex AI, to create new expert assistants that guide consumers through the product selection process. To that, the brand intends to enhance its training app by enabling users to log their activities via text and receive insights that support them in achieving their fitness goals.
