#83- Quick Hits

No deep dive this week as I was busy preparing a keynote for the European Media Innovation Xchange conference in Brussels. As part of Belgium's EU presidency, this event brought together media leaders and policymakers to reflect on the challenges of a fragmented European media landscape. Despite its importance, EU funding for media innovation still lacks a clear, focused agenda and flexibility. I had the honor of delivering a keynote describing the power dynamics of the next era of media and some of the key aspects to master in order to thrive.

While there is no main theme this week, you'll still find the usual set of interesting updates and insights on the latest in media and tech.

IN FOCUS

This week, the U.S. government made moves to separate TikTok from its parent company, ByteDance, because of concerns about connections to China. While not directly a TikTok ban, the legislation that was passed by the House of Representatives mandates ByteDance to divest TikTok to a non-Chinese entity to continue its operations in the U.S. However, the prospect of China blocking such a sale essentially positions it as a de facto ban.

Critics argue that a TikTok ban might inadvertently boost the dominance of large American social media platforms, despite them facing similar issues regarding user privacy and data security.

AI/NEWS

The European Union has officially approved the AI Act to make sure artificial intelligence (AI) is used safely and fairly. The landmark law sorts AI into different groups based on how risky they are and sets strict rules for the riskiest ones. It bans some dangerous AI uses altogether and requires AI companies to explain clearly how their technology works, especially when it interacts with people or makes decisions about them.

Short

• OpenAI has made new deals with European publishers Le Monde & Prisa. Link and Link
• A BBC article looks at how journalists are feeding the AI hype machine. Link
• And for those who missed it. Here's my Newsroom Robots podcast talk with Nikita Roy about how we are trying to navigate the AI frontier at the Dutch Public Broadcaster NPO. Link

AI/TOOLS & RESOURCES

Investment company a16z has released a new ranking of the 100 most used Gen AI consumer apps. 40 percent of the companies listed are new. This indicates a growth spurt that continues to gain momentum. ChatGPT remains dominant, attracting close to 2 billion monthly web visits, which is roughly five times more than that of its nearest competitor, Gemini.

Zach Seward, the editorial director of AI initiatives at The New York Times has made a great overview presentation of interesting AI-journalism projects. In all of his examples, it's humans first and humans last, with a little bit of powerful, generative AI in the middle to make the difference.

Short:

• LoreMachine, a new generative AI toolbox turns stories into comics. Link
• JournalismAI launched a directory of AI consultants and trainers working in journalism, news and media. Link
• Cognition Labs, a new AI company, released this week Devin, an AI software engineer, i.e. an agent that works autonomously, just like a human software engineer. Link

And the Reuters Institute has unveiled how it wants to cover AI and the future of news. The program combines hands-on AI workshops for journalists, discussions on AI use in news by editors and executives, research on AI's impact in journalism, and original reporting on how media leverages AI.

NEWS

The Daily Maverick has submitted a comprehensive piece to the South African Competition Commission suggesting a new way to make big tech companies pay for hurting journalism, similar to how polluters pay for environmental damage. Rather than making them pay for news links or using copyright laws, which hasn't worked well in places like Australia and Canada they want to charge these companies a fee based on how much money they make, to help fix the news industry.

Short:

• A new Sparktoro reports shows that Google still dominates US web traffic referrals, accounting for over 63% from the top 170 sites. Link
• Research from the American Press Institute reveals more under-40s in the US are willing to pay for or donate to news, showing strong support for media. Link
• Five Pulitzer Prize finalists this year incorporated AI in their journalism processes. Link
• A new generation of digital news startups finds success by learning from past failures. Link
• A new Toolkits study indicates an increase in consumer satisfaction with digital subscription value, despite concerns over cost, ad load, and content relevance. Link
• Adweek discusses Google's AI-powered search engine's impact on publishers. Link
• The Reuters Institute examines the potential impact of AI-generated disinformation on elections and offers guidance for journalists. Link

AUDIO

Spotify is starting to make music videos available for Premium subscribers on mobile, desktop, and TV devices, pitting the streamer against one of YouTube’s core utilities.

Related. A good analysis on how playlists are the central weapon in Spotify’s arsenal to gain bundling power in its fight against music labels.

In Australia, people listen to podcasts for as long each week as they listen to FM radio according to the Australian media regulator.

+ The New York Times Audio app has passed one million downloads.

VIDEO

Doug Shapiro has again produced an excellent long-read on AI. This time he takes a look at what Sora means for Hollywood and why he thinks X-to-video models have such a disruptive potential.

Related: AI-based workflows might give rise to entirely new types of companies that transform entertainment as we know it.

Short.

According to Business Insider a great exodus of YouTube creators is coming. Link

X appears to be working on an app that will allow users to watch long-form video content on their smart TVs. Link

YouTube is revamping its TV app to make videos feel way more interactive. Link

TRENDS

The robot overlords aren’t here quite yet—but a new video from AI robotics company Figure shows they might be closer than you think. It’s fairly impressive and downright creepy at times.

HootSuite has released its latest Social Media Consumer Report. It's packed with fresh data that reveals what audiences love, hate, and merely tolerate from brands on social media.

Capgemini's TechnoVision 2024 delves into the pivotal questions of our time: What lies ahead for technology, and how will it reshape our society and enterprises?

And my find of the week. Strategy in the age of AI.

That's it for this week - hope you enjoyed it. Wayfinder is made to circulate so feel free to share with friends & colleagues!