The Junction

#28: The Good, The Bad, and The AI

Days after we discussed Google's new AI Overview (SGE) feature, there's been news that it can provide false and misleading information. Some examples we've seen of these hallucinations are pretty wild, such as recommending how many rocks a person should eat per day or how to help cheese stick to pizza using non-toxic glue.  Now that you've lost your appetite (and maybe a little bit of your confidence in AI), have no fear. It's important to remember artificial intelligence is still fairly new to us—which gives us even more of a reason to learn what to be cautious of and how to leverage it for good.  In this episode, we dive into some interesting stories and give our takes on them, such as: • Airbnb's use of predictive AI to reduce disruptive parties during peak holidays • Elon Musk's $6 billion funding round for his AI company X.ai and his claim of achieving AGI by 2025 • A predictive report stating that 50% of jobs could be replaced by AI by 2027 *** 🌐 Resources:  * Article: Airbnb using AI to predict, block Memorial Day, July 4th parties in NJ [https://njbiz.com/airbnb-using-ai-to-predict-block-memorial-day-july-4th-parties-in-nj/] * Article: Google scrambles to manually remove weird AI answers in search [https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/24/24164119/google-ai-overview-mistakes-search-race-openai] * Article: Top VC Kai-Fu Lee says his prediction that AI will displace 50% of jobs by 2027 is ‘uncannily accurate’ [https://fortune.com/2024/05/25/ai-job-displacement-forecast-50-percent-2027-kai-fu-lee-chatgpt-openai/?utm_source=www.therundown.ai&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=ai-cracks-the-stock-market] * Announcement: Elon Musk's xAI $6 billion funding round [https://x.ai/blog/series-b?utm_source=www.therundown.ai&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=ai-cracks-the-stock-market] * X: Google's AI Overview Oopsie #1 [https://x.com/petergyang/status/1793480607198323196] * X: Google's AI Overview Oopsie #2 [https://x.com/ParikPatelCFA/status/1793945389097525671?utm_source=www.therundown.ai&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=google-s-ai-overview-nightmare] 📱Connect with us on LinkedIn: Mel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissabell-b2bmarketer/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissabell-b2bmarketer/] Chase: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasefriedman/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasefriedman/] 📧 We want to hear your thoughts on the latest AI products coming to market. Reach out at thejunction@venntechnology.com [thejunction@venntechnology.com]. As always, keep it automated!

#27: Marketing's not dead, it's different with Jacob Schmeichel

The way you reach your perspective buyers is changing because of AI. People are searching for what they need differently, and search engines like Google have already shaken up the SEO game with its new Search Generative Experience (SGE) concept. A recent study from Search Engine Land [https://searchengineland.com/how-google-sge-will-impact-your-traffic-and-3-sge-recovery-case-studies-431430#h-how-the-sge-impact-model-works] found that a number one ranked SERP could see a 20% drop in traffic (best case scenario) all the way up to a 64% drop (worst case scenario) due to Google's new AI search feature (SGE). This episode features Mel and special guest, Jacob Schmeichel, Product Marketing Manager at Venn. Jacob is an SEO enthusiast who's been following the latest trends in AI search, and he believes every marketer and business leader should be paying close attention. We dive into a ton of groundbreaking topics, including: * Implications of AI on organic search traffic, content creation, and marketing strategies * Ethical considerations around using AI in marketing and content production * Shifting marketing strategies towards conversational, original content * Concerns around AI security and OpenAI's recent disband of its safety team *** 🌐 Resources:  * Search Engine Land: How Google SGE will impact your traffic [https://searchengineland.com/how-google-sge-will-impact-your-traffic-and-3-sge-recovery-case-studies-431430#h-how-the-sge-impact-model-works] * Harvard Business Review: Marketing Is Dead (2012) [https://hbr.org/2012/08/marketing-is-dead] * Futurism: CNET's Article-Writing AI Is Already Publishing Very Dumb Errors [https://futurism.com/cnet-ai-errors] * Big Think: Why great AI produces lazy humans [https://bigthink.com/the-present/why-great-ai-produces-lazy-humans/] 📱Connect with us on LinkedIn: Mel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissabell-b2bmarketer/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissabell-b2bmarketer/] Jacob: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-schmeichel-ab01b2186/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-schmeichel-ab01b2186/] 📧 We want to hear your thoughts on the latest AI products coming to market. Reach out at thejunction@venntechnology.com [thejunction@venntechnology.com]. As always, keep it automated!

#26: OpenAI Takes on Google with New ChatGPT Features

OpenAI made some pretty big waves this week after announcing the launch of its app with the latest ChatGPT updates—now offering interactive voice/text/video features. In this episode of The Junction, Mel and Chase break down how OpenAI's product release will democratize access to powerful AI tools while gathering valuable training data. It's clear that OpenAI has proven their position against rivals like Google. We want to hear your thoughts on the latest AI products coming to market. Reach out at thejunction@venntechnology.com [thejunction@venntechnology.com]. As always, keep it automated! *** Connect with us on LinkedIn: Mel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissabell-b2bmarketer/ Chase: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasefriedman/

#25: Stripe Sessions, AI-Based Payments, and a GPT-2 Comeback?

We're geeking out on this episode after an exciting week at Stripe Sessions 2024 🤩 Mel and Chase share a recap of their experience during Stripe's annual conference last week. There was a lot of discussion around payment innovations, fraud protection, AI for customer personalization, and cryptocurrency 💳💰 A big highlight of the week was getting to hear from guest speaker Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA. He shared his vision for AGI (artificial general intelligence) and the possibilities of using a number of AI agents. We dive into a lot more this episode, including: * Rumors of ChatGPT-2's comeback * OpenAI's quiet releases - upping the # of files to upload to AI assistants and the new JSON format for structured data outputs * AI & automation strategies in the payments and eCommerce space *** Connect with us on LinkedIn: Mel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissabell-b2bmarketer/ Chase: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasefriedman/ Have questions or comments? Reach out to us at thejunction@venntechnology.com and as always, keep it automated!

#24: Artificial Intelligence in Business: Understanding AI, AGI, and Future Trends

This episode of “The Junction” hits a little closer to home than any of us white collar paper pushers would care to ponder.  Going back and forth between optimism and skepticism, Mel and Chase reflect on AI’s growing capabilities, the fear mongering in the tech journalism space and real life cases where AI is encroaching on jobs.  What’s covered in this episode: * A discussion on the complexities and nuances of taxes, both personal and corporate. * An insightful conversation about the advances in AI and its distinctions from AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). * Examination of the impact of automation on business efficiencies and the potential threats to jobs. * Analysis of funds flow and the financial mechanics in different sectors like Uber, Stripe. * Deliberation on the future of AI and automation and their implications on broader economics and individual careers. * Overview of the experiences with automated systems and debates on their effectiveness and capabilities. Resources: * Realizing the potential: Transforming tax and finance operating models [https://www.ey.com/en_gl/tfo-survey] * 3 Ways AI can elevate your tax workflows [https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/blog/three-ways-ai-can-elevate-your-tax-workflow/] * BEPS 2.0: Future of international tax and what it means for business [https://www.ey.com/en_in/tax/india-tax-insights/beps-2-future-of-international-tax-and-what-it-means-for-business#:~:text=The%20key%20part%20of%20the,minimum%20tax%20rate%20of%2015%25.] Connect with us on LinkedIn: * Mel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissabell-b2bmarketer/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissabell-b2bmarketer/] * Chase: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasefriedman/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasefriedman/] Have questions or comments? Reach out to us at thejunction@venntechnology.com [thejunction@venntechnology.com] and as always, keep it automated!