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The internet is preparing for a seismic shift
ALSO: The Bay Area dominates AI funding
Zain Kahn
May 16, 2024
Read time: under 4 minutes
Welcome back, Superhuman
The internet is built off of a simple premise: Each time you visit a site, you give it a tiny boost in the form of engagement and ad clicks. Now, AI search engines could flip that dynamic upside down — and sites are scrambling to respond.
Today’s Insights
How AI searches could reshape the internet
Prompt: Interview Follow-Up
The biggest funding deals in AI this week
5 new AI tools to boost your productivity
Everything else you should know today
Chart: The Bay Area dominates AI funding
AI-Generated Images: Lord of the Mics
NEXT IN AI
Why AI searches could turn the online economy on its head
Source: Digital Trends
Search engines once acted like Grand Central Terminal — a central hub that ferries you along to various digital destinations. Now, cobwebs have started to form and fewer people are passing through. Next door, there’s a brand-new station that promises to teleport you directly to where you want to go — minus the grueling train journey.
By the end of the year, billions of people will have access to Google’s new AI summaries. Other companies, most notably OpenAI, are rumored to have their own AI-powered search platform in the works.
AI enthusiasts say that change is good for internet users: Instead of digging through pages of search results, they’ll receive specific, detailed answers directly in the search engine itself.
But there’s a hidden cost: Websites rely on clicks and engagement to help drive traffic. But if no one’s stopping by anymore — because there’s a more direct way to get information — they’ll have to find a different way to keep the lights on. That presents a tricky conundrum: If a lot of sites go out of business, there will be fewer sources for AI search engines to draw their information from.
Bye-Bye SEO: There was a time not so long ago when websites hired SEO experts – digital wizards that could tell them which words or phrases would help or hurt their standing in the algorithm. If AI-powered platforms end up replacing traditional search engines, these positions might soon be a piece of internet history.
What’s the solution? There’s no easy answer. But search engines might need to bear some of the financial cost. Just as AI companies are starting to partner with newspapers to train new models, search engines could offer to pay a small sum each time they reference an outside source. Or, AI search companies might try building their own news organizations to help fuel their own results.
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PROMPT OF THE DAY
Interview Follow-Up
Prompt: I had an interview this morning and it went well. I really want the job. Please write a professional thank you email to the interviewer for [job title]. The interview took place on [date] at [time]. Express gratitude, highlight that I was impressed with the team and company culture and that I am confident I will thrive in the role. Reiterate relevant experience or qualifications, restate my interest and ask about next steps. Also reference that we have a shared love of dogs. You can adapt the prompt to your specific needs.
Source: UTSA University Career Center
FUNDING & ACQUISITIONS
The biggest funding deals in AI this week
PolyAI, a London-based company that builds AI voice assistants for call centers, secures a valuation of nearly $500M after closing $50M in new funding.
The frontline workforce management platform Sona raises 27.5M in a Series A funding round.
Weka, which specializes in building data pipelines for AI projects, raises $140M in a Series E funding round led by Valor Equity Partners.
Rad AI, which helps radiologists fill out reports more efficiently, brings in $50M in a Series B funding round.
The medical device division of Samsung, Samsung Medison, acquires French AI ultrasound startup Sonio for nearly $93M.
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PRODUCTIVITY
5 AI Tools to Supercharge Your Productivity
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AI & TECH NEWS
Everything else you need to know today
Source: Getty Images
Insta Coup: Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger is joining OpenAI rival Anthropic (makers of Claude) as their new Chief Product Officer.
Crossing the Aisle: A bipartisan group of senators wants Congress to spend $32 billion each year on AI innovations, including new initiatives that would address AI safety.
Untapped Talent: MIT, Cornell Tech, and other top universities are sponsoring a new program that will prepare women of color for careers in the AI industry.
Beyond Touch: To coincide with Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Apple has announced a new AI feature that will allow iPhone and iPad users to navigate through menus with only their eyes.
WFH Woes: Business Insider reported that employees at Dell are frustrated that the company will allegedly begin issuing “red flags” to hybrid workers who fail to come into the office.
CHART
The Bay Area dominates AI funding
In 2023, more than half of all venture funding for AI startups went to companies based in the Bay Area, up from 29% in 2022, according to a new Crunchbase analysis.
Silicon Valley startups got 75% of the world’s AI funding in Q1 2023, when ChatGPT reached 100 million users.
AI GENERATED IMAGES
Karaoke night in Middle Earth
Source: u/Larry-fine-wine one Reddit
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