AI and Digital Transformation Trends and Latest News (Recording)

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Transcript

Welcome to the Digital Revolution LIVE!  I’m so thrilled to have you join this broadcast as we dive into the latest news and trends in digital transformation and intelligent technology. Your insights and opinions are incredibly valuable, so don't hesitate to share your thoughts and questions, please post them in the comments. Let's make this an engaging and interactive session together!

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TOPIC OUTLINE
Here’s what I’ll be covering during this LIVE stream.
News Topic #1 “OpenAI won’t watermark ChatGPT”
News Topic #2 “Google pulls Gemini AI ad from Olympics after backlash
News Topic #3 “Is the AI Stock Bubble Bursting? These CEO Quotes Say No: The Boom Will Continue
Digital Transformation Trend: Everything As a Service
News Topic #4 “Report: Apple plans to launch two foldable devices in 2026”

“OpenAI won’t watermark ChatGPT”
Link: https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/4/24213268/openai-chatgpt-text-watermark-cheat-detection-tool 

Our first news topic comes from “The Verge” .com, published on August 4th by Wes Davis and titled “OpenAI won’t watermark ChatGPT text because its users could get caught”.  Here’s what Wes Davis reported. 

OpenAI has had a system for watermarking ChatGPT-created text and a tool to detect the watermark ready for about a year, reports The Wall Street Journal. But the company is divided internally over whether to release it. On one hand, it seems like the responsible thing to do; on the other, it could hurt its bottom line.

OpenAI’s watermarking is described as adjusting how the model predicts the most likely words and phrases that will follow previous ones, creating a detectable pattern. Offering any way to detect AI-written material is a potential boon for teachers trying to deter students from turning over writing assignments to AI. The Journal reports that the company found watermarking didn’t affect the quality of its chatbot’s text output. In a survey the company commissioned, “people worldwide supported the idea of an AI detection tool by a margin of four to one,” the Journal writes. After the Journal published its story, OpenAI confirmed it’s worked on watermarking text in a blog post update today that was spotted by TechCrunch. In it, the company says its method is very accurate (“99.9% effective,” according to documents the Journal saw) and resistant to “tampering, such as paraphrasing.” But it says techniques like rewording with another model make it “trivial to circumvent by bad actors.” The company also says it’s concerned about the stigmatization of AI tools' usefulness for non-native speakers.

But it seems OpenAI is also worried that using watermarking could turn off surveyed ChatGPT users, almost 30 percent of whom evidently told the company that they’d use the software less if watermarking was implemented. Despite that, some employees still reportedly feel that watermarking is effective. In light of nagging user sentiments, though, the Journal says some suggested trying methods that are “potentially less controversial among users but unproven.” In its blog post update today, the company said it’s “in the early stages” of exploring embedding metadata. It says it’s still “too early” to know how well it will work, but that because it’s cryptographically signed, there would be no false positives.

“My Perspective: AI Detection Methods & Systems”

Now let me add my perspective to this online article and why it’s important to have AI detection methods and systems developed.  Future developments in AI detection for text, photos, and videos are crucial for several reasons:

1. Misinformation and Deepfakes: As AI technology advances, so does the potential for creating convincing fake content. Improved AI detection can help identify and mitigate the spread of misinformation and deepfakes, ensuring that the information we consume is accurate and trustworthy.

2. Security and Privacy: Enhanced AI detection can play a significant role in protecting personal data and privacy. By identifying unauthorized use of images, videos, and text, we can prevent identity theft, fraud, and other malicious activities.

3. Content Moderation: With the vast amount of content generated daily, AI detection tools are essential for moderating and filtering harmful or inappropriate content. This helps create safer online environments for users.

4. Intellectual Property Protection: AI detection can help identify and protect copyrighted material, ensuring that creators and businesses are fairly compensated for their work and that their intellectual property rights are upheld.

5. Ethical AI Development: By focusing on AI detection, we can promote the ethical use of AI technologies. This includes ensuring transparency, accountability, and fairness in AI systems, which is essential for building public trust and acceptance.

“Google pulls Gemini AI ad from Olympics after backlash”
Link: 
https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/2/24212078/google-gemini-olympics-ad-backlash 

On August 2nd, Victoria Song from The Verge .com reported that Google pulled down its Gemini AI ad from the Olympics, let me set-up the backlash. Victoria posted:

Google is not winning any gold medals for its Olympics ads this year. After days of backlash, the company has decided to pull its controversial “Dear Sydney” ad from Olympic coverage.

In the 60-second ad, a father seeks to write a fan letter on behalf of his daughter to her Olympic idol, US track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. The premise is the sort of ad you’d expect to see at the Olympics, but things take a twist when instead of helping his daughter write a letter, he just has Gemini do it for them. “This has to be just right,” he says, before prompting Gemini AI to tell Sydney how inspiring she is, that his daughter plans to break her record one day, and to add a “sorry, not sorry” joke at the end.

From the get-go, the ad has drawn the ire of the internet. Many have lambasted the ad on social media for completely missing the point of writing a fan letter. Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri penned a takedown stating she wants to “throw a sledgehammer into the television every time I see it.” Others have pointed out that the ad encourages taking the easy way out instead of practicing self-expression.

Meanwhile, in a statement to multiple outlets, Google acknowledged the negative feedback but said that the commercial wasn’t meant to imply Gemini AI could completely replace humans. The ad was meant to “show how the Gemini app can provide a starting point, thought starter, or early draft for someone looking for ideas for their writing.”

At the heart of the issue, tech companies still struggle to read the room with regard to AI. With the “Dear Sydney” ad, it isn’t even about AI stealing jobs. Generally speaking, humans crave authentic connection. What makes a fan letter precious is the knowledge that someone took time out of their busy life to express what you or your work means to them. It’s hard to imagine that McLaughlin-Levrone wouldn’t be moved by a rambling letter from a child with the occasional typo or awkward grammar.

Ironically, the father’s words leading up to his Gemini prompt were perfect enough. Conversely, the glimpses you can see of Gemini’s draft read more like a boilerplate cover letter. Google may have meant to show that Gemini is great at starting a draft, but it failed to understand that business emails are one thing, but personal letters are something else entirely. Writing them isn’t supposed to be easy. Being nervous, pushing through it, and sending your honest feelings anyway, that’s the entire point.

“Marketers, Always Consider…”

Now this story really resonated with me as a marketing professional, so now I’m going to provide a detailed list of key aspects that marketing professionals who are creating marketing campaigns to promote artificial intelligence, what they should consider before drafting and ultimately creating ads or video.

1. Clarity and Transparency: Clearly explain what AI is and how it works. Avoid jargon and technical terms that might confuse the audience. Transparency about the capabilities and limitations of AI builds trust.

2. Benefits and Value Proposition: Highlight the specific benefits and value that AI brings to the target audience. Whether it's increased efficiency, cost savings, or improved decision-making, make sure the messaging focuses on the tangible advantages.

3. Ethical Considerations: Address ethical concerns related to AI, such as data privacy, security, and bias. Show that your company is committed to responsible AI development and usage.

4. Real-World Applications: Provide examples of how AI is being used in real-world scenarios. Case studies and success stories can help potential customers understand the practical applications and impact of AI.

5. Human-AI Collaboration: Emphasize that AI is a tool to augment human capabilities, not replace them. Highlight how AI can work alongside humans to achieve better outcomes.

6. Visual and Interactive Content: Use engaging visuals, infographics, and interactive content to explain complex AI concepts. Videos, animations, and demos can make the technology more accessible and interesting.

7. Customer Testimonials and Reviews: Include testimonials and reviews from customers who have successfully implemented AI solutions. Social proof can be a powerful motivator for potential buyers.

8. Future Potential: Discuss the future potential of AI and how it can continue to evolve and bring new opportunities. This can create excitement and anticipation among your audience.

Also let me bring to attention two additional aspects that are important.

Call to Action: Clearly define what you want your audience to do next. Whether it's signing up for a demo, downloading a whitepaper, or contacting your sales team, make sure the call to action is clear and compelling.

Compliance and Regulations: Ensure that your messaging complies with relevant regulations and standards related to AI and data usage. This helps avoid legal issues and builds credibility.

By considering the factors that I just mentioned, marketing professionals can create effective and compelling campaigns that resonate with their audience and promote the benefits of artificial intelligence. 

“Is The AI Stock Bubble Bursting? No!”
Link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/artificial-intelligence-ai-stock-bubble-073000042.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLmdvb2dsZS5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAApojxAvmcFNFZFh1jgBi8S6WidRSxNr5GRm6jh4IdTR0B6_J5aQbLLPEgJpiF7NwgzO1OtbLr0pik4DiOdb6ha1YmTqOHOF7Pcyag0aUmySrkSryURrB3BrMZ5tFh_O-97ilJ2XhwZiryBs4QTg5kUvAxq_2KmMOIFSy3orpTNt 

Yahoo Finance featured an informative article from The Motley Fool, by Billy Duberstein and published on August 4th, titled: “Is the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Bubble Bursting? These CEO Quotes Say No: The Boom Will Continue”, let’s get into this market story…also I am in no way providing any financial investment recommendations, just simply reporting on this news item.

This recent earnings season has seen a violent sell-off in many tech names that have rallied this year as investors have come to doubt the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

No doubt, big companies continue to spend heavily on AI infrastructure. And while tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft posted quite good earnings, apparently, many investors were expecting even more. With the overall economy appearing to soften and the unemployment rate recently ticking up to 4.3%, the sell-off has recently intensified.

Yet, reading the commentary from leading tech companies, this investor thinks concerns over the AI revolution are short-sighted. Based on big tech CEO statements and one statement from a leading memory company at the end of June, there's a good case to be made that the spending boom will continue. That makes the recent pullback in AI stocks a long-term opportunity.

At first glance, it's entirely understandable why investors sold these stocks on earnings. While both Microsoft and Google beat on both revenue and earnings expectations, they also spent much more on capital expenditures to build AI data centers.

While Alphabet beat expectations with 14% revenue growth and 31% earnings-per-share growth in the quarter, which was impressive, capital expenditures nearly doubled relative to last year. And while Microsoft beat expectations, posting revenue growth of 15% and EPS growth of 10% -- though operating income growth matched revenue growth at 15% -- its capital expenditures soared 55% relative to the prior-year quarter.

Clearly, investors are nervous that the current growth in operating income isn't matching the growth in spending. That would mean big tech stocks will either go down as they spend money on endeavors that don't generate sufficient returns on invested capital or eventually stop spending so much, which could hurt the likes of Nvidia and other semiconductor stocks.

However, each company's management remained quite bullish on AI. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai noted the company's AI solutions were being used by some 2 million developers. Meanwhile, Google Cloud's revenue beat expectations, accelerating its growth rate with profitability inflecting to $1.2 billion, a new quarterly record. Pichai also added:

“We are in this phase where we have to deeply work and make sure on these use cases, on these workflows, we are driving deeper progress on unlocking value, which I'm very bullish will happen. But these things take time. But if I were to take a longer-term outlook, I definitely see a big opportunity here.”

Microsoft also had good things to say about its AI products. CEO Satya Nadella noted strong AI CoPilot versions of products were seeing traction across the customer base. Microsoft 365 CoPilot seats doubled quarter over quarter, and Github CoPilot is now bigger than Github was overall when Microsoft first bought it in 2018, according to Nadella. While Azure's growth technically disappointed Street expectations, Azure still posted 30% growth in constant currency, the strongest of the three major cloud providers.

So, while these tech giants may have seen some slowing in parts of their economically sensitive businesses, AI products are still strong. Meanwhile, all the big cloud companies have significant cash on their balance sheets and the ability to invest.

Could they slow spending if the economic climate gets bad enough? Perhaps, but one quote from memory specialist Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) CEO Sanjay Mehrotra at the end of June hinted the spending may keep going, regardless of the economy.

“We are in the early innings of a multi-year race to enable artificial general intelligence, or AGI, which will revolutionize all aspects of life. Enabling AGI will require training ever-increasing model sizes with trillions of parameters and sophisticated servers for inferencing. AI will also permeate to the edge via AI PCs and AI smartphones, as well as smart automobiles and intelligent industrial systems.”

Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is thought of as the "holy grail" of AI. It means a machine will be able to think, reason, and learn just as humans do, while simultaneously having access to all the knowledge in the entire world. This would make for a superintelligence that could theoretically benefit humanity in revolutionary ways.

While many had thought AGI might not come before 2050, recent advances have put the target closer. Elon Musk predicted AGI in two years and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicted roughly five years to AGI.

Mehrotra's comment seems to indicate big tech giants all over the world are in the AI race for the long haul, or at least until we see AGI.

While big tech businesses may see some slowing relative to expectations, these are still incredibly profitable businesses with huge balance sheets. So, as long as AGI appears to be a realistic goal on the medium-term horizon and these companies have the cash, the AI race looks to still be very much on.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m not providing any financial investment advice, now that being said, let me provide you some industry expert reasons of why investing into AI might be risky.

“Investing In AI Can Be Potentially Risky”

Investing in AI can be potentially risky for several reasons, here are five, according to market experts.

1. Technological Obsolescence: AI technology is rapidly evolving, and what is cutting-edge today might become obsolete tomorrow. This can make it challenging to predict which companies will remain competitive in the long run.

2. Market Volatility: AI stocks can be highly volatile. The market's excitement about AI can lead to significant price swings, making it difficult to predict short-term performance.

3. High Valuations: Many AI companies have high valuations, which can be risky if the companies do not meet growth expectations.

4. Regulatory and Ethical Concerns: Laws and regulations surrounding AI are still evolving. Changes in regulations, especially those related to data privacy and ethical AI use, can impact the profitability of AI investments.

5. Job Displacements and Social Impact: AI has the potential to displace jobs and create social challenges, which can lead to public backlash and regulatory changes.

Let me add one more, which has come up in conversations that I’ve been having with other professionals.

Skills Gaps: There is a shortage of skilled professionals in the AI field, which can hinder the growth and development of AI companies.

Despite these risks, AI also offers significant opportunities for growth and innovation. It's essential to approach AI investments with a well-informed strategy and consider diversifying your portfolio to manage potential risks.

“Digital Transformation Trend: Everything As a Service”

"Everything as a Service" is a transformative trend in digital transformation that represents a shift from traditional product-based models to service-based models. Here are some key aspects of “Everything as a Service”:

1. Flexibility and Scalability: “Everything as a Service” or EAS offers businesses the flexibility to scale their services up or down based on demand. This is particularly beneficial for companies that experience fluctuating workloads.

2. Cost Efficiency: By adopting EAS, businesses and organizations can reduce capital expenditures and shift to an operational expenditure model. This allows them to pay only for the services they use, leading to cost savings.

3. Innovation and Agility: EAS enables businesses to quickly adopt new technologies and innovations without the need for significant upfront investments. This agility allows companies to stay competitive in a rapidly changing market.

4. Comprehensive Solutions: EAS encompasses a wide range of services, including Software as a Service, Infrastructure as a Service, and Platform as a Service. This comprehensive approach allows businesses to access a variety of services through a single platform.

5. Improved Customer Experience: By leveraging EAS, companies can offer personalized and seamless experiences to their customers. This is achieved through the integration of various services and technologies, enhancing overall customer satisfaction.

I’ll also add…

Continuous Transformation: EAS supports continuous end-to-end transformation, allowing organizations to adapt to changing business environments and market demands. Overall, EAS is more than just a technological shift; it represents a paradigm transformation in business operations, offering flexibility, efficiency, and innovation.

“Report: Apple plans to launch two foldable devices in 2026”
Link: https://9to5mac.com/2024/08/02/report-apple-plans-to-launch-two-foldable-devices-in-2026/ 

Reported by “9 To 5 Mac” .com by Ryan Chris-To-Fell on August 2nd.  Here’s what Chris-To-Fell had to say: 
Apple has tons of new products still coming in 2024. But for analysts and supply chain watchers, the focus is always years out. According to a new report, 2026 will be an especially big year for the company. Apple reportedly plans to launch two distinct foldable devices in 2026: an iPhone and an iPad/Mac hybrid device.

Rumors about Apple entering the foldables market have been around for years. Recently, however, reports began to get more solid.

In late July, word arrived that Apple had signed a panel supply contract for its first foldable iPhone. The device would have a top-down fold design, similar to a Galaxy Flip. It’s expected to release in late 2026. Separately, an iPad/MacBook hybrid device has been in development. Call it an all-screen MacBook, or a foldable iPad—either way, the idea is the same. The device would sport an 18.8-inch display when unfolded.

Now, a new report from analyst Jeff Pu indicates that both of these devices are on track for release in 2026.

According to the research report, Pu expects the foldable iPad/Mac hybrid to debut first. It’s currently tracking for release in the second quarter of 2026. The foldable iPhone, he states, will follow in late 2026.

The report contains no other new details on the two devices other than their expected timeframes. A lot can change between now and 2026, but if these timelines hold true, Apple will be introducing radical changes to its product line in a short period of time. It’s understandable why the iPad/Mac hybrid would debut with Apple’s first foldable display. Although all three products are wildly successful, the iPhone ships at a scale that’s far beyond any other Apple product. Prepping foldable displays in smaller quantities initially seems a safer bet for the company. 

“My Perspective: Why Are Foldable Devices So Trendy?”

Let me say that, mobile phone manufacturers are all increasingly adopting foldable phones for several reasons:

1. Innovation and Trendy: Foldable phones offer a fresh and innovative design that stands out in a market saturated with similar-looking devices. This trendiness attracts consumers looking for something new and exciting.

2. Larger Display in a Compact Form: Foldable phones provide a larger screen without increasing the overall size of the device. This is particularly appealing for users who want a bigger display for multitasking, gaming, or media consumption, but still want a device that fits comfortably in their pocket.

3. Enhanced Multitasking: The foldable design allows for better multitasking capabilities. Users can run multiple apps simultaneously on different parts of the screen, improving productivity and user experience.

4. Market Differentiation: As the smartphone market becomes more competitive, manufacturers are looking for ways to differentiate their products. Foldable phones offer a unique selling point that can help brands stand out from the competition.

5. Technological Advancements: Advances in materials and engineering have made foldable screens more durable and practical. This has encouraged manufacturers to invest in and develop foldable technology.

Also, let me add foldable devices are a consumer demand. There is a growing interest and demand for foldable phones among consumers. Studies suggest that foldables could capture a significant share of the premium smartphone market in the coming years.

Overall, foldable phones represent a significant step forward in smartphone design and functionality, and manufacturers are keen to capitalize on this trend.

“Closing Thoughts”

Staying on top of news and trends related to digital transformation and intelligent technology is crucial in today's fast-paced world. These advancements are reshaping industries, driving innovation, and creating new opportunities. By keeping informed, you can stay ahead of the curve, make informed decisions, and leverage the latest technologies to your advantage. Plus, understanding the news and trends helps you anticipate changes and adapt more effectively, ensuring you remain competitive and relevant in an ever-evolving landscape.

“Thank You”

SO, as a listener of "The Digital Transformation" podcast, we'd love to hear from you. Share your digital transformation stories, insights, and experiences by emailing us at Jim@JimKunkle.com or connecting through the podcast’s social media channels. Whether you've navigated organizational shifts, implemented cutting-edge technologies, or transformed your business processes, your story matters. Let's celebrate innovation, resilience, and growth together!

OK, on the way out let me play an AI generated song from Suno, titled: “Digital News Feed”.