Axios House: Brands are beginning to diverge in their approach to AI
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Photographer Tyne Mocek for Axios
CANNES, France — Communications industry leaders are split on whether AI is an effective tool to openly embrace or a technology to publicly reject, they said at a June 24 Axios event.
Why it matters: Growing AI skepticism is forcing brands to reconcile the technology's productivity upsides with potential harm to their reputations.
Axios' Eleanor Hawkins moderated the Expert Voices roundtable, sponsored by Yahoo.
5 big takeaways from the conversation:
- Accuracy and transparency are guiding principles at USA Today Co., where the company uses AI to select keywords in headlines and highlight the most important points of a story, CEO Mike Reed said.
- Creators who work with G&B Digital Management are told, "Do not put it out there that you are using AI," founder and CEO Kyle Hjelmeseth said, because of how it might negatively affect audience trust.
- Status lead author Oliver Darcy predicts a divide between legacy media rejecting the technology — saying "we are all human laboratories" — and the "cost-conscious" outlets using it to "outsource a lot of the work."
- Even if public figures don't use AI, audiences already are — and it's transforming the information landscape, said Emily Blair Media CEO and founder Emily Marcus. She shepherded former reality TV personality Spencer Pratt through the Los Angeles mayoral primary.
- AI is "both a blessing and a curse" for brands like infant formula Bobbie, chief brand officer Kim Chappell said, because its products are high-stakes and dependent on consumer trust.
Content from the sponsor's remarks:
"Having originality, judgment and connection" remains crucially important, said Yahoo chief communications officer Sona Iliffe-Moon in her introductory comments, and those touches will make in-person experiences even more meaningful.
