Advertising & Marketing

While the FTE-based model is flawed and often exploited, its one saving grace is that it creates predictable billing for both sides. But there’s a new problem. With a single AI-enhanced, well-trained FTE capable of outproducing entire teams, the math changes. Now what? Continue Reading →

Today is a very big day for everyone in the media business. Right now, open ChatGPT and choose ChatGPT 4o. You'll see a globe in the context window. Click it and enter your search term. Sit back and wonder about the future of link-based search, ecommerce, and the web itself. Continue Reading →

Asking for reports is a fact of corporate life. So is requesting updates to your dashboards. But imagine if you could open a chat window and talk directly with your data. You'd just type (or say), "What's the last day we can sell a full-priced widget in market 18 before we have to mark it down or ship it back to the manufacturer?" and the database would give you the answer. No reports, no dashboards, just a conversation. Continue Reading →

There are two stories in the news today that caught my attention: 1) News Corp is suing Perplexity.ai for aggregating and surfacing WSJ and NYPost content without permission or payment. 2) xAI launched its API, which reminded me that X changed its terms of services last week, informing users that it can (and most likely will) use any content posted on X (formerly Twitter) to train its AI models. Continue Reading →

Using proprietary data in AI workflows has the potential to transform brand marketing, but there aren't any one-size-fits-all solutions. To make matters worse, the field is filled with jargon and hype. I can't do much about the hype, but I can arm you with some high-level concepts to facilitate your AI-focused discussions. With that in mind, here's a brief overview of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), one of the most popular ways to incorporate your proprietary data into generative AI workflows. Continue Reading →

OpenAI plans to integrate SearchGPT into ChatGPT by the end of this year. Initially launched as a prototype in July, SearchGPT combines real-time search capabilities with conversational AI providing direct answers, summaries, and contextual insights as opposed to a list of links. The chat interface allows users to ask followup questions and the system links citations to the output ensuring transparency (and the preservation of link-based search). Continue Reading →

Meta has launched Movie Gen, a new AI-powered video creation tool for small businesses. Movie Gen allows users to generate video content from prompts, edit existing videos, and add synchronized sound effects and music. It will not be available for open developer use but is intended for collaboration with the entertainment industry and content creators. Continue Reading →

Apple has released iOS and iPadOS 18.1 beta 6. The update allows developers (and any beta program users) to test a host of new features (including Apple Intelligence). The official date for the public release of 18.1 has not been announced. However, the rumor mill says October 28. In the meantime here’s what’s coming... Continue Reading →

I have a bit of a history with the Mets. In July 1986, the Mets were 27 games ahead and the Pennant was a shoe-in. The team was destined for greatness, and advertising legend Jerry Della Femina and two of his senior executives (Bob Sherman and John Olken) commissioned me (I was known professionally as Shelton Leigh Palmer then) to compose and produce an official theme song and direct and produce a music video for the team. The song “Let’s Go Mets” (aka “Let’s Go Mets Go!”) became the official song of the world champion 1986 New York Mets. Continue Reading →

While companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Google focus on responsible AI development, a darker side has emerged on underground networks. Unfiltered AI models are being deployed on the dark web, enabling dangerous applications including tools for cybercrime, the distribution of disinformation, and automated privacy violations. Let's explore. Continue Reading →