✅ Monday briefing: Agency M&A, AI and jobs, new jobs for old, journalism disrupted, plagiarism machines, copyright and AI, CMA investigates AI, and more...
Artificial intelligence, research, tools and platforms
Good morning. I hope that you’re well.
The economy in the UK remains challenging. The twin effect of interest rate rises and inflation is throttling growth. Bank Holidays and strikes are hitting productivity. It is slowing down decision-making and investment.
I recently wrote about the challenges that the economy is placing on the agency business model. It is driving opportunities for investment and M&A as founders consider how they generate value.
Sarah Waddington CBE picked up the story last week. Smaller companies are looking for larger, integrated platforms that provide scale. Larger companies are seeking talent and specialist expertise.
In the three years that Wadds Inc. has operated, we’ve never seen so much activity in this area.
Agency managers should make time to focus on the fundamentals, consolidate, and take informed decisions about investment areas so that you’re ready for the next upturn.
We’re here if you need help with thinking through these issues.
Artificial intelligence
🤖 AI AND JOBS: The CIPR published a paper in 2018 by Jean Valin that benchmarked public relations competency with AI. An article by Martin Ford, author of Rule of the Robots, revisited this topic this week. Creativity, relationship management, and problem-solving ability in unpredictable environments are all deemed areas protected from AI. Spotted Rod Cartwright.
🔄 NEW JOBS FOR OLD: A report by Goldman Sach finds that generative AI could drive a 7% increase in global GDP and lift productivity by 1.5% by helping us work smarter and more effectively. 300 million jobs are predicted to be impacted by AI over the next decade but the report says that these will be replaced by new roles. Spotted Andrew Bruce Smith and Stephen Waddington.
🗞️ JOURNALISM DISRUPTED: The generative capabilities of AI are likely to have a significant impact on research and content creation in public relations. Journalism will also be impacted. The Economist is not optimistic. It says generative models are messing with the fundamental unit of journalism creating language soup. Spotted Andrew Bruce Smith.
🤖 PLAGIARISM MACHINES: AI is at the heart of a dispute between Holywood writers and studios. The Writers Guild of America is seeking to restrict the use of AI in writing film and television scripts. Hollywood studios view AI as a means of improving profitability. Source Micheal Greer.
©️ COPYRIGHT AND AI: Who owns the copyright if AI tools are used to generate content? In the UK, it’s owned by the author, while in the EU, it differs from market to market. In the US, the Copyright Office has stated that copyright is owned by the work’s author, but only if the author is human. Source Hannah Skulnick.
🔍 CMA INVESTIGATES AI: The Competition and Markets Authority has launched an investigation into the AI market. It aims to show how markets are developing around large language models such as ChatGPT. Its goal is to spotlight opportunity and the guardrails to protect consumers and ensure effective competition. Spotted Andrew Bruce Smith.
Research
🧼 PURPOSE WASHING: Public relations may have over-indexed on purpose according to a study from the USC Center for Public Relations. The research, based on the US market, finds that consumers want value for money; investors want to know they're investing in decent organisations; and employees want to be paid well. Spotted Stephen Waddington.
🔵 BLUE LABEL: A Leeds Business School researcher is investigating the importance of public trust in a crisis. If you have a perspective on the impact of the blue tick on public trust please get in touch. Source Charlotte Dimond.
📈 AI TRENDS: Industry is racing ahead of academia, AI is both helping and harming the environment and rising policymaker interest in AI are among three trends highlighted by the Stanford University annual AI report. The report finds varying levels of concern about AI around the world. Spotted Stephen Waddington.
Tools
🎵 TIKTOK PRIMER: TikTok has launched a business hub for marketing on the platform. The one-stop shop includes information on campaign planning, creative, production, sourcing and working with creators. Source Alan Morrison.
🐦 TWITTER CONTENDER: As the conversation about what to do about Twitter continues a new social network has emerged backed by former Twitter boss Jack Dorsey. Bluesky Social looks and feels a lot like Twitter. Access is limited as it scales. It is a federated network but the initial phase is being controlled by the Bluesky team. Source Richard Bagnall.
Platforms
🔎 GENERATIVE GOOGLE SEARCH: Google used its annual developer conference to state its responsible use of AI. It is adding generative AI to its core search product to incorporate content within results. It will provide pointers for further information. Source Alan Morrison.
📷 IMAGE AUTHENTICATION: A reverse image search tool announced by Google at its I/O conference will help spot fake and AI-generated images. This technology from Google Lens will be incorporated within Google Search and other tools. Source Andrew Bruce Smith.
🏁 TWITTER END GAME: Twitter has become flakey. More importantly, it's no longer a safe place for brands or people. What's your exit plan? Twitter is a platform, not a community. Head to places off Twitter where your people hang out. Source Neville Hobson.