Exploring the Joys and Risks of AI

Today, we feature reports that consumers are turned off by products that promote AI, that regulators want to protect against catastrophic harm from AI, and that there are a slew of useful AI tools.

Good Morning!

Here are today’s highlights:            

• Walmart’s Scan & Go tech lets advertisers reach shoppers at the point of decision.

• Suddenly, it’s a lot easier to find hourly workers.

• San Francisco is offering entrepreneurs free retail space.

• Independent restaurateurs are finding opportunity in the failures of national chains.

MARKETING

Does promoting AI actually turn off customers? “Even as tech giants pour billions of dollars into what they herald as humanity’s new frontier, a recent study shows that tacking the ‘AI’ label on products may actually drive people away. A study published in the Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management in June found that describing a product as using AI lowers a customer’s intention to buy it. Researchers sampled participants across various age groups and showed them the same products – the only difference between them: one was described as ‘high tech’ and the other as using AI, or artificial intelligence.”