Google unveils Gemini AI as ChatGPT adoption grows

The economic impact of artificial intelligence is a subject of debate among Federal Reserve officials. Kevin Warsh, a former choice for Fed chair, suggests AI will boost productivity, potentially allowing for lower interest rates. However, Fed Governor Michael Barr disagrees, believing AI is unlikely to lower rates in the short term and could even increase the neutral rate. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly also urges caution, noting that AI's full impact on the U.S. economy remains unclear, comparing its slow-burn transformation to the internet's influence in the 1990s.

AI is already transforming various sectors. Farther, a wealth management firm linked to Google's parent company Alphabet, launched its AI Analyst chatbot, built using Google's Gemini AI technology. This tool helps financial advisors quickly scan client data for critical details, with about one-third of Farther's advisors already utilizing it. Similarly, civil rights attorney Joseph McMullen employs AI tools like Clearbrief and Briefpoint to manage vast amounts of evidence in federal cases, enabling him to secure significant verdicts, such as for two US citizen children wrongly detained in 2019.

Consumer adoption of AI for product discovery is rapidly increasing, with new data from The Rank Collective showing 64 percent of consumers use AI tools, and 34 percent start with ChatGPT. This creates a challenge for brands, as fewer than 15 percent are prepared for AI visibility, despite AI-referred visitors showing higher conversion rates. Meanwhile, AI's rise also presents new security risks for businesses, as automated processes and AI agents with high access expand the attack surface, necessitating robust identity management for both human and non-human identities. In China, AI companies like Alibaba and ByteDance are leveraging the Lunar New Year with aggressive campaigns, offering giveaways like cars and robots to attract new users to their chatbots.

In response to AI's growing influence, educational institutions and policymakers are adapting. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) plans to launch a new undergraduate degree in artificial intelligence next fall, aiming to meet the high demand for AI skills and offer "stackable" certificates. On the regulatory front, The Boston Globe Editorial Board recommends Massachusetts require disclosure of AI use in political advertisements, following an ad featuring a fake Maura Healey. This move would align Massachusetts with 24 of 26 states that already regulate political deepfakes, ensuring transparency for voters.

Looking ahead, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski identifies the "switching cost of data" as the next major challenge in the AI era. He argues that while AI makes software writing nearly free, the difficulty and expense of moving data between vendors remain significant. Siemiatkowski predicts AI-powered tools will soon simplify data migration, urging software businesses to focus on making their data and its inherent relationships unique and difficult to replicate or transfer.

Key Takeaways

  • Federal Reserve officials, including Kevin Warsh and Michael Barr, disagree on AI's short-term impact on productivity and interest rates, with Mary Daly urging caution on its full economic effects.
  • Farther, a wealth management firm linked to Google's parent company Alphabet, launched its AI Analyst chatbot, built with Google's Gemini AI technology, to assist financial advisors.
  • Civil rights attorney Joseph McMullen uses AI tools like Clearbrief and Briefpoint to manage vast evidence in federal cases, securing significant verdicts.
  • New data from The Rank Collective shows 64% of consumers use AI for product discovery, with 34% starting with ChatGPT, highlighting a visibility challenge for brands.
  • AI's rise in automated processes and agents expands the attack surface for businesses, creating new identity security risks that require robust governance.
  • The Boston Globe Editorial Board recommends Massachusetts require disclosure of AI use in political ads, following a fake Maura Healey ad, aligning with 24 other states regulating deepfakes.
  • The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) will launch a new undergraduate AI degree next fall to meet high demand for AI skills and offer "stackable" certificates.
  • Chinese AI companies, including Alibaba and ByteDance, are offering giveaways like cars and robots during Lunar New Year to attract and lock in new chatbot users.
  • Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski predicts AI will make software writing nearly free, shifting the next major challenge to the "switching cost of data" between vendors.

Fed officials disagree on AI's impact on interest rates

Kevin Warsh, President Trump's choice for Fed chair, believes artificial intelligence will soon boost productivity and allow the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. However, Fed Governor Michael Barr disagrees, stating that AI is unlikely to lower rates in the short term and could even increase the neutral rate. This shows a growing disagreement within the Fed's 12-person committee on how AI will affect the economy. Barr also expects AI to transform the economy by displacing some jobs while creating new ones, but believes widespread joblessness will be avoided.

Fed's Daly urges caution on AI's economic impact

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly stated that while artificial intelligence shows great promise, its full impact on the US economy is not yet clear. She urged policymakers to carefully watch for signs of how AI will change productivity and growth. Daly compared AI's potential to the internet's transformation in the 1990s, noting that it will take time for its effects to appear in economic data. She emphasized the need to look beyond overall data to understand AI's evolving influence.

Farther launches AI chatbot for financial advisors

Farther, a wealth management firm linked to Google's parent company Alphabet, launched a new AI chatbot called AI Analyst. This tool helps financial advisors by quickly scanning client data to find important details like tax risks, cash problems, market exposure, and life events. It allows advisors to prioritize client outreach and get information that previously required manual reports. About one-third of Farther's advisors are already using the AI Analyst, which was integrated in December and built using Google's Gemini AI technology.

AI changes identity security for businesses

Artificial intelligence is quickly changing how organizations manage identity, with automated processes and AI agents now acting with high levels of access. This rise in non-human identities greatly expands the attack surface, creating new security risks like AI agent impersonation and uncontrolled permissions. Channel partners play a key role in helping businesses strengthen their identity foundations and prepare for these changes. They must guide customers in governing all identities, human and non-human, to ensure systems are secure and AI-ready.

Most consumers use AI for product discovery

New data from The Rank Collective reveals that 64 percent of consumers now use AI tools for product discovery, including 34 percent who start with ChatGPT. This trend creates a major problem for most brands, as fewer than 15 percent are set up for AI visibility. AI-referred visitors show much higher intent and conversion rates than traditional search users. Brands that use The Rank Collective's structured GEO frameworks have seen up to a five times increase in AI visibility within 60 days. This shift means brands must focus on being part of AI-generated answers, not just search results.

Massachusetts urged to disclose AI in political ads

The Boston Globe Editorial Board suggests that Massachusetts should require political advertisements to disclose when they use artificial intelligence. This recommendation comes after an ad featuring a fake Maura Healey highlighted the problem of deepfakes in politics. While 24 of 26 states already regulate political deepfakes, Massachusetts needs a law that balances free speech with the need for transparency. A strong disclosure law would help voters know if images or voices in ads are real, without violating the First Amendment.

Civil rights lawyer uses AI to win cases

Civil rights attorney Joseph McMullen uses artificial intelligence to manage vast amounts of evidence in his federal cases against agencies like the FBI. Facing three federal trials in three months with terabytes of documents, McMullen began using AI tools like Clearbrief and Briefpoint in early 2024. These tools help him sort and analyze data, allowing him to focus on the human stories and strategic judgment essential to lawyering. For example, AI helped him secure a significant verdict for two US citizen children, Julia and Oscar, who were wrongly detained at the border in 2019.

UALR to offer new AI bachelor's degree

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock, or UALR, plans to launch a new undergraduate degree in artificial intelligence next fall. This program aims to meet the high demand for AI skills in today's job market. Phillip Huff, an Associate Professor in UALR's Computer Science Department, highlighted the increasing number of job descriptions requiring AI knowledge. The degree will also offer "stackable" certificates to students across different majors, helping to prepare the workforce and support national security efforts.

Chinese AI firms offer Lunar New Year giveaways

Chinese AI companies, including Alibaba and ByteDance, are turning the Lunar New Year holiday into a major event for attracting new users. These chatbot makers are offering exciting giveaways like free tea, cars, and even robots to encourage people to use their services. The Lunar New Year has become a prime time for aggressive campaigns aimed at locking in users. This strategy helps these AI giants compete and grow their user base as the year of the horse begins.

Klarna CEO says data switching is next AI challenge

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski believes that artificial intelligence is making the cost of writing software almost free. He argues that the next big challenge for software companies will be the "switching cost of data." Currently, businesses find it very hard and expensive to move their data from one software vendor to another. However, Siemiatkowski predicts that AI-powered tools will soon make data migration much easier, removing a key advantage for existing companies. Therefore, software businesses must find ways to make their data and the relationships within it truly unique and difficult to replicate or move.

Sources

NOTE:

This news brief was generated using AI technology (including, but not limited to, Google Gemini API, Llama, Grok, and Mistral) from aggregated news articles, with minimal to no human editing/review. It is provided for informational purposes only and may contain inaccuracies or biases. This is not financial, investment, or professional advice. If you have any questions or concerns, please verify all information with the linked original articles in the Sources section below.

AI Economic Impact Interest Rates Productivity Job Market Federal Reserve US Economy AI Chatbots Financial Services Cybersecurity AI Agents Product Discovery Consumer Behavior Marketing E-commerce Political Advertising AI Regulation Legal Technology AI Education User Acquisition Software Industry Growth Brands Large Language Models Chinese AI Companies Deepfakes Data Migration Wealth Management Identity Security

Comments

Loading...