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SCARLETT JOHANSSON CLAIMS ALTMAN TOOK ‘HER’ VOICE
In this week’s What’s Appening, we look in as developer conference season continues with Microsoft Build 2024. Satya Nadella took to the stage to announce where Microsoft was going with generative AI, and we got some answers with a new range of AI PCs, Copilot updates, AI agents in Teams, and more. We have all the highlights from Build in our top take below. This week, we are also looking back at Google I/O, parsing out what all the AI updates mean for Google’s core product - Search. We also have takes on OpenAI’s suspicious use of their Scarlett Johansson-like voice, X leaning into AI for its algorithm, and Apple’s new accessibility features. Our Stat looks at some crazy revenue - or lack thereof - for Truth Media. What’s dAppening reels at the mind-boggling number of cryptocurrency tokens created each day. And our GPT of the Week is an in-house creation from 3Advance.
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👷♂️🪟 Microsoft – Satya Nadella Looks Backward and Forwards at Build 2024
After Google I/O and OpenAI, it’s now Microsoft’s turn for conference season with Build 2024. Yesterday (before Build officially kicked off), Microsoft announced a host of new products, including Copilot Plus PCs with built-in AI hardware. This will cover all of Microsoft’s own models, as well as Dell, Lenovo, Acer, and so on. One of the main features, Recall, is proving to be a little controversial, though. Recall is an AI program that will deliver a searchable “photographic memory” of everything you do on it. Beyond AI, Microsoft also made a big call on its new range of laptops, saying they were 58% faster (faster at what?) than the M3-powered MacBook Air. On to today, and Satya Nadella’s keynote address was somewhat whimsical: you could see he really believes Microsoft is at a pivotal moment comparable to the mid-1990s. The announcements included an integration with GPT-4o on Azure OpenAI, Team Copilot (an AI virtual team member for your organization), new AI Edge features, and something we thought was really neat – a partnership with Khan Academy to give every US educator the ‘Khanmigo’ AI-powered tutoring tool 100% free. That’s most of what went down at Build. As with Google I/O, it’s still going on at the time of writing. So, if we’ve missed anything of note, we will circle back to it next week. #BuildingBlocks Read more here.
This week’s Custom GPT is brought to you by 3Advance, and it’s by far our best yet. With GPT4o launching last week, we realized that the time was right for our “Meeting Debrief Interview” GPT. While everything is still fresh in your memory, the GPT will ask you all about a meeting that just happened, with whom and where, and, of course, document your follow ups. It even generates a private Google Calendar link so you can file it right for easy retrieval later. The GPT works brilliantly with the new updates from OpenAI. Make sure to click the “headphones” icon for a voice conversation. The results are spectacular. Try it out here.
🔎🏗️ Google I/O – More On What Went Down Last Week
Google I/O was live just as we were sending out the newsletter last week, so we only had time to give a quick rundown of what was happening at the event. If you want, you get a breakdown of all the new products and services here – spoiler, Gemini AI has been added to just about everything. But we wanted to expand a bit on Google’s core product, Search. Google showcased “Search in the Gemini Era” at I/O, demonstrating how we would soon be using its most synonymous product. The headline was that AI would provide summaries for your search, instead of a host of links (or adverts🙄). Crucially, it won’t be for all searches, as Google says the AI will be smart enough to distinguish between a broad query – “How do I make lunch for a vegan?” – and a specific search where links would serve better – “The New York Times Sports Section.”. Is it all a bit underwhelming? To an extent. Tech Crunch summed it up as an “AI evolution, not revolution”. But it makes sense for Google to take baby steps: It can’t rip up a product with $175 billion in annual revenue due to a perceived threat from a product OpenAI hasn’t built yet. Slowly does it. #AISearch Read more here.
😡 Scarlett Claims Misuse of ‘Her’ Voice. ChatGPT’s new voice sounded suspiciously like Scarlett Johansson’s, and she’s taking action. Johansson claims she was approached by OpenAI but refused to do the voice, so they seemingly hired another actor who sounds eerily like her. OpenAI has hit the pause button on the ChatGPT voice for now, but damage has been done to their brand. Details here.
❌ X Will Lean on AI for Feed Algorithm. We could write a book about all the problems with X/Twitter’s algorithm. But the platform will now let AI manage it, claiming that it will be fairer to smaller accounts, cut out spam, and so on. More here.
🍏 Apple Announces New Accessibility Features. Apple gave a sneak peek of lots of new accessibility features coming for iOS 18 later this year, including vehicle motion cues, eye tracking, and music haptics. The early announcements were timed to coincide with Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Find the story here.
↘️🗣️ Donald Trump – Truth Media and Technology Group Lost $370M in Q1
We were staggered to see the Q1 figures for Donald Trump’s Truth Media Group – the umbrella company that owns Truth Social. In Q1 2024, the company made over $370 million in losses. Nothing strange about a social media company losing money, sure. But it was the revenue that caught our eye – just $770K (the “K” is not a typo). Somehow the company is valued at $6 billion. A lot to be said for brand recognition, eh? #HardTruth Read more here.
🪙🆕 Crypto – Data Shows Over One Million New Tokens Launching Per Month
On the face of it, web3 is flying right now. The Bitcoin ETFs have been a massive trad-fi success, and there are rumors an Ethereum ETF could be approved any minute. Other projects, such as Chainlink, are finally demonstrating real-world use cases. But down in the murky waters at the bottom things are, well, a little insane. Data shows that over one million new crypto tokens launched over the last month, many of which are pump & dump scams. The reason for the surge is simply that it’s never been easier to create a token, thanks to both Solana and (Coinbase’s) Base. While it might be fun to launch a token based on your pet dog, be aware that the constant scams hurt crypto as a whole, and the vast majority of these tokens exist simply to gain money from the unsuspecting. #CoinBurst Read more here.
Our latest podcast episode is now live! This time, we’re thrilled to welcome growth marketing expert Jen Bryan to the show. Join us as, Jen, a growth marketer turned agency founder and the creator of linkinbio.ie, shares her journey and insights on leveraging AI and GPTs to fuel marketing efforts. One of her standout lines? “Use ChatGPT to learn about ChatGPT.” Here’s a sneak peek at what she covers:
Understanding Growth Marketing: Discover its profound impact on business growth.
Marketing Tips for GPT Founders: Learn effective strategies tailored for you.
Creating Viral Hooks: Harness AI to craft captivating social media content.
AI for Agency Operations: Explore innovative uses of AI to streamline processes.
Don’t miss out—catch the full episode now on Spotify, YouTube, and all major platforms. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. And be sure to connect with Jen!
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