A new report by PwC has found that sectors of the global economy that are highly exposed to artificial intelligence (AI) are experiencing a significant increase in productivity. The study found that productivity growth in these sectors was nearly five times faster than in sectors with less AI exposure, suggesting that the technology could help lift the global economy out of a 15-year low-growth period. In the UK, job postings requiring AI skills were growing 3.6 times faster than all job listings, with employers willing to pay a 14% wage premium for jobs requiring AI skills.
The report also found that some companies were currently using AI to address a lack of available workers, a scenario that could prove beneficial for nations with shrinking working-age populations and unmet labor needs, and went on to suggest that employment in AI-exposed occupations was still growing. PwC's chief economist, Barret Kupelian, stated that AI has the potential to create new industries, transform the job market, and increase productivity growth rates. He added that the current economic impact of AI is just the tip of the iceberg, with the potential for transformative effects once the technology properly reaches other sectors.
Find more at the Guardian.
On May 13th, just hours before Google's annual I/O event, OpenAI unveiled its latest AI model: GPT-4o, opening access to advanced AI capabilities to a wider audience. GPT-4o is a multimodal language model that can understand and respond to user input through various channels, including text prompts, voice commands, and real-time video. It also incorporates advanced object and image recognition capabilities, allowing for real-time analysis of visual information. The model is available through a free tier within OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot, with additional benefits for paid subscribers. GPT-4o's multilingual capabilities have also been significantly enhanced, offering improved performance in over 50 languages. OpenAI will soon roll out a new Voice Mode with expanded functionalities.
One of its expanded functionalities, Voice Mode, has been at the center of a heated controversy, as its publicized female voice sounds strikingly like actor Scarlett Johansson, who stated that she had twice declined offers from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to provide the voice for the model. Sam Altman had also recently posted “her” on X, seemingly referencing the 2013 Spike Jonze movie where Johannson lent her voice to a fictional AI assistant. OpenAI has denied that the voice, nicknamed Sky, was intentionally modeled on Johansson's and has paused using Sky's voice in its products. This is not the first time that the company has faced criticism and legal action from the entertainment and media industries over the use of copyrighted materials and intellectual property.
In addition to the controversy over the voice model, OpenAI has faced other issues. Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike, who oversaw the company's superalignment team, resigned, with Leike stating that safety culture and processes had been neglected in favor of product development. OpenAI has also been criticized for non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses in its off-boarding documents for former employees, which Altman has pledged to change. Despite these controversies, some believe that OpenAI's recent issues are standard for tech companies and do not necessarily indicate a crisis.
More info at The Drum and TechPortal.
Netflix will launch its own advertising technology platform, a move that will see it compete with other industry giants such as Google, Amazon, and Comcast. The streaming service initially partnered with Microsoft to develop its ad tech, allowing it to quickly enter the ad space and compete with rivals like Hulu, which has had its own ad server for over a decade.
The launch of this in-house ad tech platform will enable Netflix to take full control of its advertising future, creating targeted and personalized ad experiences for its 270 million subscribers. The company plans to move away from generic advertisements and experiment with "episodic" campaigns, which involve a series of ads that tell a story. Netflix also plans to expand its buying capabilities this summer, partnering with The Trade Desk, Google’s Display, Video 360, and Magnite. The company also reported the success of its ad-supported tier, with 40 million global monthly active users opting for the plan.
Read more at TechCrunch.
VivaTech, one of Europe's largest tech fairs, broke records with over 165,000 visitors, a 10% increase over 2023, and 13,500 start-ups (+20%). Amongst notable attendees were Arthur Mensch, co-founder and CEO of Mistral AI, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, but also Elon Musk, John Kerry, Eric Schmidt, Arthur Mensch, Robin Li, Linda Yaccarino, and Serena and Venus Williams. VivaTech has become a key business event, generating over 400,000 online business connections in 2024. The event attracted representatives from over 120 countries and 40 national pavilions, with Japan being the country of the year, and a special spotlight on the African continent.
The fair showcased the latest advances in artificial intelligence, with nearly 40% of exhibitors dedicated to this technology. Sustainable tech was also highlighted, particularly through the Impact Bridge, a space dedicated to initiatives for a sustainable future.The event was also a platform for numerous revelations and exclusives, including the first appearance of Tesla's Cybertruck in France. The next VivaTech is scheduled to take place between June 11-14, 2025, in Paris.
Find more details on PRNewswire and AIthority.
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