Intelligent Automation Newsletter #163

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If you’re new here, we celebrate the ways Artificial Intelligence is?making our world more Human. Make sure you check my new book and community by visiting the link below.

This week’s 5 top stories you can't miss this week:

1?? [Research] "The AI Scientist" system developed by Sakana AI and university researchers can autonomously conduct end-to-end scientific research, from generating ideas to writing full papers. "The AI Scientist" has produced papers deemed worthy of top ML conferences, showcasing its potential to accelerate discoveries.??

• At just $15 per research paper, this AI could reshape funding models and employment in scientific fields.??
• As AI-driven research advances, balancing technological progress with human values becomes a pressing concern for the scientific community.??

2?? [AI risk] 56% of Fortune 500 companies see?AI?as a potential risk to their business, a massive jump from just 9% who saw?AI?as a risk, in 2022 (the year ChatGPT was released).

• The?AI?risks, cited by these firms,?include issues around law, regulations, cybersecurity, competition, and ethics, and those in media and entertainment are the most fearful, with 91% concerned about?AI.
• Netflix thinks that?competitors deploying?AI?will affect its "ability to compete effectively,"?and Disney believes how it creates entertainment will be severely impacted as?"rules governing new technology remain unsettled.”
• 86% of software and technology companies, two-thirds of telecommunications companies, and over half of Fortune 500 healthcare, banking, retail, consumer, and aerospace companies see?AI?as harmful.

In just two, short years, the percentage of companies that see?AI?as a way to create cost efficiencies, increase productivity, and accelerate innovation has dropped, with just 30% of the Fortune 500 now seeing?AI?as a benefit.

3?? [Education] Parents petition against?AI?textbooks in South Korea:

• South Korea plans to bring tablets with?AI-powered textbooks—covering all subjects except music, art, physical education, and ethics—that are customized for different learning speeds, into classrooms next year.
• In response, over?50,000 parents have signed a petition asking the government to focus on students’ wellbeing, rather than tech, as they are already encountering issues “arising from exposure to digital devices.”
• They’re concerned that?AI?textbooks and digital devices could “negatively affect their brain development, concentration span, and ability to solve problems, as they already use smartphones and tablets too much.”

4?? [AI voice] Yum! Brands?announced plans?to bring voice AI tech to hundreds of Taco Bell drive-thrus by year-end.?For about two years, the company has been testing the third-party technology, which is currently in about 100 restaurants across 13 states.

• Yum! did not specify how many more of its 7,700 U.S. Taco Bell stores will receive the technology this year.
• By automating order-taking, Taco Bell said it aims to improve accuracy and consistency, as well as reduce wait times, freeing workers for other tasks.
• Yum-owned KFC is also trialing the technology in five Australian locations.

Zoom out:

• White Castle and Wendy’s are?also experimenting with the technology?through partnerships with other vendors.
• In June, McDonald's?ended its AI drive-thru trial?with IBM at over 100 locations. CNBC sources said the tech struggled with order accuracy, particularly with accents and dialects.

5?? [Retail] Walmart's latest update?reveals a game-changing shift in efficiency. According to their executives, generative?AI?has proven to be 100 times more effective than human teams in updating product pages.

This breakthrough transforms how retailers manage their online inventory, drastically reducing manual effort and accelerating the update process. As Walmart pioneers this tech-driven approach, it highlights a?broader trend of?AI?reshaping retail operations with unprecedented productivity.

• Walmart’s?AI?Efficiency Boost:?Generative?AI?is now 100 times more productive than human teams at updating product pages.
• Game-Changing Technology:?This advancement significantly reduces manual effort and speeds up the update process.
• Retail Transformation:?Walmart’s adoption of?AI?underscores a broader shift in retail operations toward tech-driven solutions.
• Future Outlook:?This development sets a new benchmark for efficiency in online inventory management and highlights the growing role of?AI?in retail.

[Sponsored] I am excited to talk at the Tomorrow Show. Join me in two locations:

• Oslo, Norway on September 18-19th
• Houston, USA on October 22-23rd

We will discuss decision intelligence, the future of work, and critical success factors for implementing AI at scale in organizations. Register here (free): https://tomorrowshow.com/

The 2 posts you can't miss this week:

?? Sweden is building the world’s first permanent electrified road, allowing EVs to charge while driving.

?? Apple just reinvented P2P payments

?? NOW AVAILABLE! ?? I'm thrilled to announce that my new book, IRREPLACEABLE, is now available for pre-order. As a special thank you, everyone who pre-orders will receive an Exclusive Preview of the Book!

Click here to get your copy of the book, and then collect your Special Book Preview here!

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Let us join hands to make our world more human! —?Pascal

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