AI is going to have an impact on the world that no one understands yet
The Pirates.
If you’re thinking of coming to Revenue Europe then, in the politest way, get a move on! We’ve only a few tickets remaining for the event on 1st Oct in Berlin.
It’s shaping up to be an outstanding event - you can view the agenda here - with international speakers including Tom Armstrong, The NYT’s VP of Global Ads; Joanna Levesque, MD, FT Strategies; Georg Burtscher, Russmedia’s MD; Seema Hope, The Economist’s Global Head of Consumer Research; Brady Brim-DeForest, CEO, Formula.Monks; and many more media heavyweights.
Oh, and whilst I’m here, a shout out to Chartbeat, a key event partner. Many of you already use Chartbeat for real-time analytics on audience engagement and optimising content performance. In Berlin you can hear Chartbeat’s Emma Bowser cover, “Tracking the reader revenue journey from contact to conversion”. If you’re unable to join us in Germany, our pre-event interview with Emma contains a few nuggets.
Right. Moving on.
Lost amidst the summer (or winter) vacation chaos of August, and now safely hidden away in the far hidden recesses of the internet, lies one of the most extraordinary interviews of 2024.
The conversation in question belongs to ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt who in a closed classroom setting at Stanford University laid out his thoughts on AI to a group of students.
The interview is that rare gem - a glistening diamond of insights, candid thoughts and hard facts that would give any media owner the odd sleepless night or ten. After all, Schmidt isn’t any old entrepreneur, he’s probably the most influential tech executive of his generation and his impact on world media has been profound and devastating in equal measure.
That Schmidt’s interview exists at all is, ironically, partly due to the Frankenstein he helped create — upon upload to Stanford’s YouTube channel, the explosive nature of the interview led to its prompt deletion, followed by Google scrubbing the internet so clean of any traces it would make Dexter Morgan blush. Yet, exist it does (on Google-owned YouTube no less), and here’s what you need to know:
“AI is going to have an impact on the world at a scale no one understands”
Cast your mind back to the Nineties and the advent of the internet, could you foresee social media and its impact back then? Neither could I, yet according to Reuters Institute, social media has now overtaken news publishers as the primary source of news for Gen Z. Schmidt asserts that AI will have similar unforeseen impacts. Key takeaway? Agile methodology will reign supreme, with flexibility, adaptability and rapid innovation the key watchwords. Media owners must be able to pivot on a dime.“We don’t have enough power for AGI”
Schmidt says, “I went to the White House on Friday and told them we need to become best friends with Canada because it has a lot of hydropower,” adding, “We as a country do not have enough power to do AGI.” Clearly solar farms and wind turbines aren’t going to cut it and very soon there will be an almighty collision between AI needs and sustainability goals - think ‘immovable object meets unstoppable force’. Key takeaway? Iceland and its geothermal fields will soon become the new Shangri-La, but in the meantime media owners will need to square the conflicting needs of AI power consumption with their own sustainability goals, and fast.TikTok could be banned
According to Schmidt, the U.S. government is in the process of trying to ban TikTok. He half seriously, or jokingly (depending on your viewpoint), advocates, “creating your own copy of TikTok with AI and taking all the users and music” and “if it’s not viral in one hour do something different along the same lines.” Schmidt copped a lot of criticism for these remarks, but the key takeaway is clear: Have a plan B for (if and) when TikTok is removed.Content licensing becomes a jungle scattered with mines
If you need any proof of how Silicon Valley views content, Schmidt suggests that successful AI startups could use existing (copyrighted) content and later deal with any legal consequences by hiring lawyers to, quote, “Clean up the mess”. He adds, “This is typically how it’s done.”Ouch.
AI is evolving at a pace that is now far outstripping the ability of media owners to protect themselves through legislation. As Creative Licensing International’s Paul Gerbino wrote yesterday, “AI models can be trained on copyrighted news stories to generate new, pseudo-original news that is published within seconds of the originals.” Gerbino adds, “it is difficult to detect and prevent this theft with copyright infringement being difficult to prove.” Key takeaway? As Gerbino concludes, “Collective action is now essential” and, “It is time for publishers to put aside their differences and unite in a common cause.”
“The Pirates of Silicon Valley are waiting.”
He’s right.
Mark your calendar!
If you're unable to attend Berlin, then don’t miss Mx3 Converge…
Mx3 Converge in London (Nov 4-7): Our final event of the year will see media and tech leaders come together for immersive discussions, hands-on demos, and in-depth networking across four themes: content, audience, monetisation and AI. You can choose to attend all four days or select individual themes. Tickets can be purchased here.
What we’re reading…
Inaugural issue (Vol 1, Nº.1) of The International Journal of Magazine Studies: Page 36-51 carries a comparative analysis of three niche magazines, Women’s Running, Vegan Food and Country Walking, looking at how each title has developed and implemented a membership model. Key takeaway: Membership models require careful planning and reader education.
Every publisher asks me THIS question: Chris Stone has run podcasts for The Telegraph, Evening Standard and New Statesman. He has form. So when you ask, “Should we make podcast episodes in a magazine format?”, then who better to answer? Packed with strategic insights.
How Hindustan Times is using AI: Binoy Prabhakar, the Chief Content Officer at Hindustan Times Digital, outlines how the publisher is currently harnessing AI. Don’t think for one minute India lags behind, they’re ahead. As Eric Schmidt says, “The top AI people come from India.”
To catch up to all things MX3, go to our website.
See you in Berlin and London in Oct & Nov 2024!