Sunday Rundown #110 – Google GenAI

by | May 19, 2024 | Sunday Rundown

Sunday Rundown #110

Happy Sunday and welcome back to Sunday Rundown #110 where we share some news from Google’s I/O conference and more! 🙂

Google Goes Big on Generative AI at I/O 2024

Google is going big on AI, as it looks to fend off competition in search and stake its claim as a leader in the broader generative AI space.

At its I/O conference, Google announced a range of advanced, new AI features. And some other stuff as well, but primarily, I/O this time around focuses on the company’s next-gen AI projects. These include conversational Search, improved image and video generation, personalized chatbots, and more.

The biggest announcement, however, is Google’s next-level generative AI search process.

Google on X (formerly Twitter)

As you can see in this example, Google’s bringing a ChatGPT-like response generator to Search. The generator will provide complete overviews to answer your queries in-stream.

Google will use Gemini to detect scams during calls

For a few years now, carriers have been using lists to alert users of potential spam and scam calls as they come in. These systems are hardly foolproof. So what happens once a user picks up? At the Google I/O 2024 developer conference, Google previewed a feature it believes will alert users to potential scams during the call. 

The feature, which will be built into a future version of Android, uses Gemini Nano. This is the smallest version of Google’s generative AI offering, which can be run entirely on-device. The system effectively listens for “conversation patterns commonly associated with scams” in real-time. 

There is no specific release date set for the feature. Like many of these things, Google is previewing how much Gemini Nano will be able to do down the road sometime. We do know, however, that the feature will be opt-in. 

Why marketers increasingly downplay sustainability efforts

If it feels like brands aren’t talking about sustainability as often as they were a couple of years ago, that’s because they aren’t.

Though climate change is increasingly important to consumers — especially among younger generations, who prefer to support brands that take a stance and align with their values — the worry of being called out for greenwashing has marketers rethinking how they publicise data and information around sustainability initiatives.

Over half (58%) of companies recently indicated they are cutting back on sustainability-related communications. This is according to carbon project developer and climate consultancy South Pole, which in January released its annual Net Zero report based on a survey of 1,400 companies. In fact, the data showed that, for the first time, greenhushing is happening in every major industry sector.

The reticence comes as brands have been increasingly called out for greenwashing when their marketing doesn’t align with their actual environmental efforts. Instances of greenwashing saw a 35% year-over-year increase. This is according to a 2023 report from environmental, social and governance (ESG) data science researcher RepRisk.

Bonus links

Thank you for taking the time to read our Sunday Rundown #110. If you have a story that you want to see in this series, reply to us below or contact us.