AI This Week

A recent NBC News poll finds American views on artificial intelligence echo the early buzz about the internet from the 1990s. AI chat tools such as ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Microsoft’s Copilot become widely adopted. Nearly three-fourths of adults report having used these tools while 44% say they use them regularly. The poll draws parallels with past attitudes toward the internet, noting that many concerns remain as new challenges and benefits arise. Opinions sharply divide on AI’s promise; 44% believe AI will improve life, while 42% worry it will harm society. Many even support classroom bans as a way to better prepare students for the future.

Reddit has unveiled two AI-powered ad tools — Reddit Insights and Conversation Summary Add‑ons — built on its “Community Intelligence” engine. These tools analyze billions of comments and posts to extract real‑time trends and highlight positive user feedback directly beneath sponsored content. They aim to help advertisers craft smarter campaigns and deepen engagement by weaving authentic community voices into ads. Launched at Cannes Lions Festival 2025, they reflect a broader industry shift toward AI-driven marketing amid sluggish ad markets. The move also raises privacy questions, as users’ public input fuels ad targeting without explicit notice. These features mark a major push by Reddit to monetize its vast user-generated content while stepping into next‑gen advertising tactics.

TikTok is introducing new artificial intelligence-powered advertising features. The platform now allows marketers to generate video ads using text prompts or still images. Advertisers can upload product images or provide text descriptions, and TikTok’s AI tools will create various five-second video clips suitable for ads. This move expands TikTok’s AI-generated content capabilities, offering advertisers more options to create engaging video ads quickly and efficiently. The new tools aim to streamline the ad creation process and enhance marketers’ ability to produce content tailored for the platform.

Scale AI confirms that Meta has made a landmark minority investment — $14.3 billion for a 49% stake — valuing the AI‑data firm at over $29 billion. As part of the deal, Scale founder and CEO Alexandr Wang is stepping down to join Meta’s “superintelligence” lab, while remaining on Scale’s board. Jason Droege, formerly the company’s chief strategy officer, assumes the role of interim CEO. Scale will use the fresh capital to pump up R&D, deepen partnerships, and pay out shareholders and equity‑holders. Meta gains privileged access to Scale’s AI‑training data network and executive talent amid its push to revive its AI efforts following lukewarm receptions to LLaMA 4.

Online publishers are seeing search referrals implode as Google swaps blue links for AI-generated summaries. The WSJ reports that features like AI Overviews and the new conversational AI Mode are siphoning organic traffic — Business Insider slumped 55% since 2022, HuffPost and The Washington Post face half their search traffic lost — forcing layoffs and strategy pivots. Google claims AI tools boost engagement and still promote links, but publishers say the shift turns Google into an “answer engine,” threatening journalism and prompting deals or lawsuits over content rights