The AI Round-up: Year 3, Issue 32
We are inching closer to the three-year anniversary of the world being introduced to ChatGPT. Three years. Only, three years. Think the world has changed a bit?
When I started this newsletter about 10 months after that historic day, the goal was to keep you informed. A lot of times the newsletter mirrored the news of the week…the day. And in doing so, took on the tone and tenor of that news.
Lately it’s been hard to keep this informational without dipping into the larger, darker concerns of AI. I realize that. I’m using the upcoming anniversary as the opportunity to reset that narrative. I feel I have shared a lot with you in terms of WHY you should be paying attention.
So instead of beating that dead horse with the scariest stories of the week…we are going to make a conscious effort to shift back into education and information. I’m going to assume you’re reading to apply and understand…not to be convinced. (Ok, confession: you may still see some of those, uh….we’ll say ‘deeper’ stories in the last section.)
Before we jump into this week’s stories...just a reminder that MAICON 2025 is only weeks away.
Everything you need is right here. Register. Check out the agenda. Resources. Etc. From Paul Roetzer to Christopher Penn to Andy Crestodina…you will see a lot of familiar names on that lineup!
Also, you can use the AKHIA200 promo for $200 off your registration fee! Thank you to Marketing AI Institute for making that possible. If you go…let me know! See you there!
Anyway, onto this week’s stories.
10 9 stories -- Let’s get to it.
Story 1: “How should this company actually run?” (CFO Leadership)
Hire or automate? What does the org chart look like? We have enough of a sample size that CFOs (and other c-suite leaders) will find themselves tackling that very question ahead of 2026 planning.
Story 2: Sora 2 is here. And it’s freaking amazing. (Ethan Mollick)
OpenAI released Sora 2 so of course Ethan Mollick gave it the otter test. And the results are pure magic. Watch with the sound on…and ask yourself, what can YOU do with this tech?!?
Story 3: Sora is here, and it’s freaking terrifying, among other things (Casey Newton)
Here is an excerpt from the article that shows how you should be policing your brands and content:
It's a wonderland of copyright infringement. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that copyright holders have to opt out of Sora if they don't want to see (for example) Mario smoking weed. When 404 looked this week, they found that a great number of copyright holders don't seem to have gotten around to that just yet.
"Video after video shows Pikachu and South Park’s Cartman doing ASMR; a pixel-perfect scene from the Simpsons that doesn’t actually exist; a fake version of Star Wars, Jurassic Park, or La La Land; Rick and Morty in Minecraft; Rick and Morty in Breath of the Wild; Rick and Morty talking about Sora; Toad from the Mario universe deadlifting; Michael Jackson dancing in a room that seems vaguely Russian; Charizard signing the Declaration of Independence, and Mario and Goku shaking hands," Jason Koebler writes. "You get the picture."
Story 4: But wait, there’s more! (Conor Grennan)
Every day has big news anymore. However, Sora 2 wasn’t the only big release. Some of the other tech big boys made headlines as well. Round-up of the big 3 in the linked headline above.
Story 5: How do you spell relief? A-I. (Lifewire)
Microsoft conducted a study to find out the emotion people feel the most when using AI. The answer is in the headline. More interesting than the answer though…is why. For that I’d recommend reading the article.
Story 6: Andy Crestodina does it again.
Want to do a self-assessment on your website? Cool. Want an experienced digital marketer to take a look? Just ask ChatGPT to play the role of one, in agent mode, and watch the magic.
Why share this? Especially when our agency can do the same thing (ok, ok – we can do it better and our jokes are funnier)? Because if you’re trying to optimize your site for a specific audience, don’t you want to know what ‘they’ might think? Run that experiment again but this time ask it to play the role of ___________.
Story 7: AI wants to be your ‘Friend’. (Good Housekeeping)
What is it and what to keep in mind about this new AI jewelry.
Story 8: The checkout worker who doesn’t need breaks. (CNBC)
Tired of having to make that extra click to leave ChatGPT and go buy something on another site? Well meet Checkout, which allows you to buy a product right in the ChatGPT window. Etsy is among the first to use this…and something tells me this is going to change online shopping a little bit.
Story 9: The most important AI question (Chief Executive)
If you truly want to get ahead in the world of AI, this is the article to start with – because it asks a question of you that is almost unanswerable but will give you, your company, your team a head start because you will have to come up with an answer.
This week, I’m not talking about:
-Ben
As a reminder, this is a round-up of the biggest stories, often hitting multiple newsletters I receive/review. The sources are many … which I’m happy to read on your behalf. Let me know if there’s one you’d like me to track or have questions about a topic you’re not seeing here.