Understanding Google's role in the AI landscape

By Megan Collins, Cultural Anthropologist and Generational Expert

Is it just me, or does it feel like there’s a new AI-related headline every day? And on some days, every hour?

There’s so much to keep up with, which is why we’re on a mission to help you make sense of how our world - that is, the digital and social media strategy world - is being impacted by the fast-moving AI developments.

We started last month by looking at the AI trends that people are actually using, because at the center of our core belief system is that the audience is the priority. Not the guys guiding AI development who care more about the numbers their shareholders want to see.

That’s not to say there aren’t so many people in the pipeline who deeply care about the technology and want to use it to help make the world a better place. But it’s because of those aforementioned shareholders that things get rushed, and messy, and occasionally dangerous.

So today, we’re diving in on our collective acceleration into the AI future by looking at who’s leading it: Google.

Thanks to the rise in visibility of generative AI products like ChatGPT, there’s a bit of a misconception around exactly how the total AI revolution will impact us. 

It may be “overhyped in the near term” according to Demis Hassabis, co-founder & CEO of Google DeepMind. In a recent interview with Axios, he said the excitement from investors that made everyone go all in fast isn’t necessarily a good thing: “I'd rather it would have stayed more of a scientific level.”

And that’s coming from someone at Google. A lot of people are probably echoing that sentiment this week with the tragic news that this Florida mother is blaming AI for her 14-year-old son’s death.

There is so much - good, bad, and ugly - to sift through with this technology. We’re diving into some of what Google has been up to as it relates to what we do, but it’s of utmost importance that anyone who spends time online [AKA you] keep up with the big developments.

While you read, keep this question in mind: as Google joins the rest of the business world in trying to get ahead in the race to AI dominance, what is it sacrificing along the way?

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