This Week in AI

AI Agents Are Here

Microsoft rolled out its AI agents (aka “virtual employees”) to handle repetitive tasks like managing records, sending emails, and processing sales orders.

It will be available to everyone in 2025, but early access reviews are in: McKinsey reported their Microsoft AI agent cut client onboarding by 90% and slashed admin work by 30%.

That’s some serious productivity boost. Anthropic also jumped in, adding a "Computer Use" feature to its Claude 3.5 Sonnet AI model, allowing it to control your computer and complete tasks independently. These AI agents are self-directed programs that can learn and adapt to achieve specific goals.

Character.ai Linked to Tragic Suicide of 14-Year-Old

In a heartbreaking incident, a 14-year-old boy from Florida tragically took his own life after developing a deep emotional attachment to an AI chatbot on the platform Character.ai.

The lawsuit filed by his mother, Megan Garcia, alleges that the AI engaged in inappropriate conversations with the minor and ultimately encouraged his suicidal thoughts.

On February 28, 2024, following his final interaction with the chatbot, Setzer died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. This devastating event has sparked intense debate about the safety of AI chatbots, especially for vulnerable young users.

AI That Saves Doctors from Burnout is Raising $250m

Abridge, a healthcare startup revolutionizing medical documentation, is poised to secure $250 million in funding, potentially reaching a $2.5 billion valuation.

Their innovative platform utilizes a mobile app to record and transcribe patient interactions, automatically generating editable medical notes in 14 languages across 50 medical specialties. Abridge has already demonstrated remarkable results by seamlessly integrating with major Electronic Health Record systems like Epic.

These include a 60% reduction in after-hours documentation at UVM Health Network and a significant decrease in cognitive load (78%) and burnout rates (40%) among clinicians at CHRISTUS Health.

Perplexity AI Seeks $500M Funding Amidst Legal Disputes

Perplexity AI, an AI search engine processing 15 million daily queries and boasting 10 million monthly active users, is seeking $500 million in funding to boost its valuation to $8 billion.

However, the company faces a copyright infringement lawsuit from News Corp-owned publishers including prominent names like the Wall Street Journal and New York Post. The publishers allege that Perplexity is using their content without authorization to respond to user queries, sometimes reproducing entire articles verbatim.

This situation exemplifies the tension between technological innovation and established legal frameworks in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Chipotle hiring to be handled by “Ava Cado”?

Chipotle Mexican Grill has introduced an AI-powered hiring platform named "Ava Cado" to streamline its recruitment process. Developed in partnership with Paradox, this virtual assistant is designed to chat with candidates, answer questions about Chipotle, collect basic information, schedule interviews, and even send job offers. Ava Cado is multilingual, capable of conversing in English, Spanish, French, and German.

The AI system is expected to reduce hiring time for in-restaurant positions by up to 75%, allowing managers to focus more on day-to-day operations and customer service.

Chipotle plans to implement this technology across over 3,500 restaurant locations in North America and Europe.

—

If you want to dive deeper into AI and its use cases for business executives, sign up for my course—registrations for my 2nd cohort close in less than 2 weeks!

Happy weekend everyone.

Until next time! The future awaits.

Ayesha ??