Welcome to The Week in Generative AI, a weekly roundup for marketers from Quad Insights that sums up the latest news surrounding this rapidly evolving technology.
AWS announces the general availability of AI assistant Amazon Q
Amazon Web Services (AWS) just announced the general availability of Amazon Q, its AI-powered assistant for “accelerating software development and leveraging companies’ internal data.” Available in Developer, Business and Apps interfaces, Amazon Q allows users to generate and troubleshoot code, ask questions leveraging data-driven dashboards, build their own generative AI applications and more. Per the announcement, Amazon Q is now available to “customers and partners across all industries and of all sizes.”
See also: AWS recently launched the Custom Model Import feature, which allows companies to import and manipulate their own proprietary AI models, as we noted in last week’s edition of this column.
Federal AI safety panel to include CEOs of OpenAI, Microsoft and Google
The Department of Homeland Security announced it is creating an AI security panel comprised of industry CEOs — including Google’s Sundar Pichai, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and OpenAI’s Sam Altman — as well as leaders of defense contractors, CNN Business’ Brian Fung and Sean Lyngaas report. The panel will advise on how to defend airlines and other “critical infrastructure” against attacks, especially AI-powered threats. “The move reflects the US government’s close collaboration with the private sector as it scrambles to address both the risks and benefits of AI in the absence of a targeted national AI law,” Fung and Lyngaas write.
See also: “U.S. lawmakers reveal data privacy legislation plan,” from the April 12 edition of this column.
Anthropic launches enterprise offering and iPhone app
Generative AI startup Anthropic just announced the launch of its first enterprise offering, as well as its first iPhone app, CNBC’s Hayden Field reports. Best known for Claude, its AI assistant designed to compete with industry leaders such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s new business tier, dubbed Team, includes access to all the latest Claude models, increased usage limits, administrative tools and more, Field notes. Requiring a minimum of five users, the Team tier is priced at $30 per month. The new iPhone app is free and “provides syncing with web chats and the ability to upload photos and files from a smartphone,” Field writes.
See also: “Amazon invests an additional $2.75 billion in AI startup Anthropic,” as we noted in the March 29 edition of this column.
Sam’s Club expands rollout of AI-powered verification technology to replace physical receipt checks
Making progress toward its goal of 600 stores by the end of 2024, Sam’s Club, a division of Walmart, this week announced it has rolled out its receipt-checking system, powered by “artificial intelligence and computer vision technology,” to 120 locations, USA Today’s Eric Lagatta reports. The tech, which replaces physical receipt checks conducted upon a member’s departure, boosts exit efficiency by 23%, Lagatta notes. The initiative was initially unveiled in January, as we noted in an earlier installment of The Week in Retail.
Further reading
AI tools and advancements:
- “Atlassian leans into AI with ‘Rovo,’ a tool to turn data into action — and make chatbots with character” (Fast Company)
- “Yelp is launching a new AI assistant to help you connect with businesses” (TechCrunch)
- “Audible’s Test of AI-Voiced Audiobooks Tops 40,000 Titles” (Bloomberg)
AI investments:
- “Microsoft will invest $2.2 billion in cloud and AI services in Malaysia” (The Associated Press)
- “Dropbox, Figma CEOs back Lamini, a startup building a generative AI platform for enterprises” (TechCrunch)
- “Microsoft to invest $1.7 billion in cloud, AI in Indonesia, CEO says” (Reuters)
AI controversy:
- “8 Daily Newspapers Sue OpenAI and Microsoft Over A.I.” (The New York Times)
AI strategy:
