Welcome to The Upgrade

Welcome to my weekly newsletter, which focuses on the intersection of AI, media, and storytelling. A special welcome to my new readers from the International Center for Journalists, FleishmanHillard, Vidiofy AI, and many other top organizations — you’re in good company!

In today’s issue:

• 🗞️ The Week’s Top AI Stories

• 💡Insights: My Presentation to the California State Library

• 🎙️The Big Think: Can AI Influencers Be Cancelled?

The Week’s Top AI Stories

Gen AI Tools

• OpenAI’s Board Pushes Out Sam Altman, Its High-Profile C.E.O. — The New York Times

• YouTube tests AI tool that clones pop stars' voices — BBC

• Emu Video and Emu Edit: Meta Debuts AI Models for Video and Images — Decrypt

Regulation & Policy

• VCs and Tech Companies at Odds Over AI Regulation — The Information

• Overregulating AI Will Disrupt Markets and Discourage Competition — Bloomberg Law Review (Opinion)

• UK will refrain from regulating AI ‘in the short term’ — The Financial Times

Ethics & Safety

• Why the Godfather of A.I. Fears What He’s Built — The New Yorker

• White faces generated by AI are more convincing than photos, finds survey — The Guardian

• Our Evolutionary Past Can Teach Us about AI’s Future — Scientific American

Legal & Copyright

• AI chief quits over 'exploitative' copyright row — BBC

• These lawyers used ChatGPT to save time. They got fired and fined. — The Washington Post

• Introducing AI-Assisted Research: Legal research meets generative AI — Thomson Reuters

In the Workplace

• Wall Street Bosses Turn to AI to Help Write Performance Reviews — Bloomberg

• A Coder Considers the Waning Days of the Craft — The New Yorker

• Entrepreneurs Are Rushing to Use AI. Here Are 8 Questions You Should Ask First. — Entrepreneur

💡Insights: California State Library📚

This past week, I enjoyed giving a 90-minute presentation during an all-staff meeting at the California State Library, with hundreds of librarians and administrators from across the state. We often don’t think of it this way in media, but librarians are professional storytellers. Their role is critical as keepers of human knowledge and transmitters of information to the public. With over half of all Americans holding a library card, their influence is massive — and increasingly digital.

I have not seen much mainstream reporting related to the potential uses of AI within public library systems, but it represents a field with tremendous potential impacts. Here are the top ways that libraries could leverage AI for patrons:

Personalized Recommendations: Utilizing AI for personalized book and resource recommendations based on individual user preferences and borrowing history, significantly enhancing user experience.

Enhanced Cataloging and Search Functions: Implementing AI-driven cataloging and intuitive search capabilities that understand natural language queries, making it easier for users to find and access library resources.

Data Analysis for Improved Services: Leveraging AI to analyze library usage patterns and trends, enabling libraries to optimize resource allocation, plan events, and make informed decisions about new acquisitions and services.

Accessibility Enhancements: Employing AI to provide services such as audiobook recommendations, text-to-speech for reading materials, and navigation assistance, making library resources more accessible to users with disabilities.

Interested in a presentation for your organization or discussing a potential consulting project? Let’s find a time to chat here!

Can AI Influencers Be Canceled? 🤖

In the ever-evolving landscape of social media, a new trend is emerging: virtual influencers. These AI-generated personas are not just glossy figures in the digital realm; they're also your newest 'online buddies,' and they have an agenda. They're here to sell you stuff, but they're doing it with an inhuman flair that's hard to ignore.

These virtual influencers, crafted through sophisticated AI tools, can be eerily lifelike and often indistinguishable from real humans in their appearance and social media behavior. They post selfies, share snippets of their 'daily lives,' and interact with followers — as any other influencer would. But they're entirely fictional, a blend of creative storytelling and cutting-edge technology.

Virtual influencers have been around longer than you might think, with roots stretching back to the 1990s. But it's recent technological leaps in CGI, motion capture, and AI that have catapulted them into the limelight. They come in various forms: non-humans, animated humans, and lifelike CGI humans, each offering unique ways to engage with audiences. Their creation involves meticulous design by 3D artists, with personalities tailored to resonate with specific target groups.

Digital avatars are not just a fleeting trend; they're reshaping the landscape of online content and marketing. In China, AI influencers are already live-streaming 24/7. Experts have raised mental health concerns about humans who engage with AI personas, particularly young men who create girlfriends via a crowded marketplace of apps like Candy.ai, Romantic AI, and others.

Yet, there are some serious upsides to AI influencers for marketers. A virtual influencer can command a lower price for posts than a real influencer yet still generate significant online engagement. They don't age, are (so far) scandal-free, and can be programmed to speak any language, making them incredibly appealing to companies and celebrities looking to capitalize on this trend.

However, with this rise comes the issue of transparency. These influencers, often indistinguishable from real people, exist in a grey area between reality and virtuality. This poses significant challenges, especially in advertising contexts. As they grow in popularity, the need for clear guidelines on content use and disclosure becomes crucial. Some countries and platforms are already taking steps in this direction, but there's no consensus on how to treat them.

In the grand scheme of things, virtual influencers are not set to replace human influencers entirely, at least not yet. They can't forge the same connections with people that real humans can. But, for actual human content creators today, they represent competition.

Thanks to AI Fundamentals participant Nadine Mansour for suggesting this topic!

🎓 My online AI class is full! 💻

AI Boost for Professional Communicators & Marketers is now full and underway! Be on the lookout for next year’s course dates, which will be released in the coming weeks. 🗓️

Don’t be shy—hit reply if you have thoughts or feedback. I’d love to connect with you!

Until next week,

Peter

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