Lab Weekly - 03/08/2024
The impact of the “Ozempic Economy”; Plus, the latest news about Anthropic’s new chatbot, GenAI in video games, Target’s new membership program, and more
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The Rising Ozempic Economy & Its Wide-Ranging Impact
In an era where pharmaceutical innovations may dramatically alter economic landscapes, the emergence of the so-called "Ozempic economy" has captured quite a lot of eyeballs and mindshare lately. In this week’s original article, we take a close look at the behavioral changes that could be potentially unleashed by the new class of weight loss medications.
In case you missed it…
AI Is Already Transforming Customer Service
February has been a busy month in the ongoing AI arms race. From the controversial, headline-grabbing releases of Google Gemini and OpenAI’s text-to-video tool Sora, tto Microsoft’s investment in French AI startup Mistral, there have been a whole lot of big AI development to keep up with. For consumer-facing brands, however, the deployment of generative AI in supplementing customer service has garnered significant traction, thanks to two companies’ success stories, that warrants a closer look.
Electrifying Rides & Robotaxi Growing Pains: Key 2024 Mobility Trends
The growth of EV sales is slowing down in the U.S., with some automakers blaming weak demand and slashing production, whereas the rollout of self-driving cars in the forms of robotaxi services has been fraught with tensions and setbacks, as public backlash over safety and ethical concerns continues to pose significant hurdles to widespread adoption. Yet, there is hope on the horizon.
What Marketers Should Know About Apple Vision Pro At Launch
Nearly a week post-Vision Pro launch, much ink has been spilled over speculating on how Vision Pro might shift the paradigm of personal computing, entertainment, and digital interaction. Based on this initial wave of reactions and hot takes, some key aspects about this much-anticipated headset are becoming a bit more defined. By extension, its long-term impact on the media landscape is also starting to take shape.
Anthropic Debuts Claude 3, Its Most Powerful Chatbot Yet [The Verge]
Anthropic is often overlooked in the ongoing AI arms race, but as a standalone company backed by the likes of Google, Salesforce, and Amazon, it holds strategic importance against the Microsoft and OpenAi alliance. This latest Claude 3 model, released on Monday, is said to be its most powerful AI foundational model yet that aims to directly compete with ChatGPT in both the enterprise and consumer worlds.
Specifically, the Claude 3 AI models can summarize up to about 150,000 words, or a lengthy book, compared to ChatGPT’s ability to summarize about 3,000. Anthropic is also allowing image and document uploads for the first time, expanding its utility beyond just text-based interactions. This ability to process and interpret visual information in conjunction with text broadens the range of use cases for Claude 3.
Claude 3 introduces a significant alternative to the technologies developed by OpenAI (and by extension, Microsoft) and Google's AI initiatives. This diversification is crucial for the AI industry as it ensures that innovation is not monopolized by a single entity or alliance. One thing worth noting about Anthropic is its unique company structure. Unlike its competitors, Anthropic has a novel governance structure, featuring a “Long-Term Benefit Trust” that oversees some seats on its board, effectively creating a buffer against direct investor influence.
Related: ChatGPT can now read its answers out loud [The Verge]; Google is starting to squash more spam and AI in search results [The Verge]; Startup Adzedek serves ads within custom GPTs from OpenAI's GPT store, as well as within chatbot apps that use OpenAI's API [Axios]
Google Genie Lets Users Generate AI Outputs Resembling Video Games [Mashable]
The video game industry is one of the first to be deeply impacted by the spread of 3D creative tools powered by generative AI. Case in point: Google DeepMind's new AI system, Genie, can generate playable video game worlds based on images and descriptions. Unlike similar AI, Genie allows users to interact with the worlds it creates. Impressively, it not only autonomously develops game assets and adapts to player interactions, but also demonstrates a nuanced understanding of game physics. While not yet available to the public, Genie raises questions about the future of video game development and potential flooding of game marketplaces with AI-generated content.
Per a recent survey by the Game Developers Conference, 31% of game developers say they already use generative AI at work, while 18% don't but have colleagues who do. Overall, 50% of the game developers surveyed work at a studio already using generative AI tools, and 84% say they are at least somewhat concerned about ethical use of those tools. Nevertheless, tools like Genie hold immense potential to democratize game development, particularly for smaller, independent game makers. As with any media sector, the gaming industry is looking at a near future of over-abundance. How to stand out from the sludge of AI-generated content will be a key struggle shared by all media owners.
Related: Convai takes AI-driven NPCs to next level with Nvidia Avatar Cloud Engine [VentureBeat]; Artists are increasingly using video games to promote their music and reach new audiences, particularly young people [WSJ]
Target To Launch Paid Membership Program [Bloomberg]
Target is the latest retailer to launch a paid membership program, as it seeks to compete with the likes of Amazon Prime and Walmart+. The program, named Target Circle 360, will cost $99 a year and offer subscribers unlimited free same-day delivery for orders over $35 in as little as an hour, along with free two-day shipping on orders from Target.com.
Positioned as a paid tier of an expanded version of the existing Target Circle loyalty program, this new membership program is a bid for customer loyalty (and additional revenue) through the promise of a better delivery experience. As consumers increasingly look for retailers that can provide both value and convenience, this move highlights Target’s commitment to adapting to changing shopping behaviors and expectations, while also bridging the gap between traditional brick-and-mortar shopping and the ecommerce experience.
Related: Walmart online delivery times expand ahead of Target Circle 360 launch [Axios]; Whole Foods to debut new small-format stores [Marketing Dive]
Situational Awareness:
House panel unanimously approves bill that could ban TikTok [CNN Business]
Members of Congress were reportedly flooded with calls from angry constituents after TikTok launched a new campaign using push notifications to warn U.S. users their beloved app was at risk of being shut down and urge them to call their representatives.
TikTok’s rather proactive countermeasure makes me think this bill may actually get the bi-partisan support needed to force ByteDance — TikTok's Chinese parent company — to divest its ownership of the app. Keeping a close eye on this.
California gives Waymo the green light to expand robotaxi operations [The Verge]
Can’t wait to see how this round of Waymo expansion turns out. Here’s hoping that it doesn’t end up with more cars set on fire.
Google updates its search ranking algorithm to combat AI spam [Google]
Google unveiled new changes to its search ranking algorithm to combat the rise of AI spam and reduce low-quality content in results by up to 40%. Too little, too late? Well, at least it’s a good start.
Twitch will overhaul its mobile app to add a discovery feed for short videos [Engadget]
The TikTok-fication of apps continues. At least this one makes a lot more sense than, say, LinkedIn adding support for short-form videos.
Don Julio goes beyond the bottle for Apple Vision Pro experience [Marketing Dive]
Tequila tasting in a virtual environment sounds pretty cool, but how to leverage the immersive format unlocked by Vision Pro to transport customers to interesting or imaginative places remains a challenge for brand storytelling in general. Let’s start by asking: does your brand have a transportive story to tell?
In Q4 of 2023, ad spend on TikTok reached $1.2 billion, according to a report from MediaRadar; that was a 43% increase from the $805 million advertisers spent in the first quarter of the year.
iPhone sales plummeted in China, as Apple competes with the homegrown Huawei. Chinese smartphone sales declined 7% YoY in the first six weeks of 2024; Huawei rose 64% YoY while Apple fell 24% YoY, Oppo fell 29% YoY, and Vivo fell 15% YoY, per data tracking by Counterpoint Research.
According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), 13.6 million Americans tried their hand at playing Pickleball in 2023, Sportico reports. That puts pickleball in the same league as baseball (16.7 million) and outdoor soccer (14.1 million) and just ahead of downhill skiing (13.1 million).
If you find our insights valuable and would like to have a deeper conversation on technology and media innovations, or need to sound smarter in a client meeting or a pitch, please feel free to reach out to Chelsea Freitas, our VP of Strategy, at chelsea@ipglab.com.
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