Artificial Intelligence
The art and science of hyper-personalised shopping
I recently joined a boxing gym, and as I was on my way home, I received a text from Sam. He said he was a representative with the gym, and he wanted to know if I had enjoyed my first class. (I had.) A few days later, he followed up again, telling me about a package of classes suited to a beginner. Sam has continued to text me ever since, talking casually in the first person as he suggests other options, like a studio membership, that I might be interested in.
I’d willingly handed over my phone number to this gym when I initially signed up, and knew full well it might be used for marketing purposes. What I didn’t know, however, was that that a seemingly real person would be talking to me, armed with unique information about my experience.
Sam, it turns out, is the gym’s general manager. Although I can’t say for sure, in the current ecommerce landscape, he probably isn’t spending his days hunched over his phone, eager to text me. Instead, his messages are likely pre-written and automated through some kind of software, based on the data they’ve already collected about me.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20231208-the-art-and-science-of-hyper-personalised-shopping
The creative industries are fighting back against UK government proposals to let artificial intelligence companies use copyright-protected work without permission.
The latest protest is a silent album co-written by more than 1,000 musicians, including Kate Bush, and follows a statement signed by 48,000 creatives including Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus in which they warned of a “major, unjust threat” to artists’ livelihoods.
Artificial Intelligence
Kate Bush, New Order, & Damon Albarn Among 1,000 UK Artists Protesting Government’s AI Stance With A Silent Album
Last week, the UK government proposed a new policy that would allow tech companies to use copyrighted works to train their artificial intelligence algorithms. Under the proposal, artists and companies could opt out of having their material used for AI, but it would otherwise give the companies unfettered access to people’s creative work without having to license anything. The proposal has incited widespread anger in the UK’s arts communities, and now a team of 1,000 British musicians has released a silent protest album called Is This What We Want?
Writers, publishers, musicians, photographers, movie producers and newspapers have rejected the Labour government’s plan to create a copyright exemption to help artificial intelligence companies train their algorithms.
In a joint statement, bodies representing thousands of creatives dismissed the proposal made by ministers on Tuesday that would allow companies such as Open AI, Google and Meta to train their AI systems on published works unless their owners actively opt out.
