#022 Google Launches Duet AI, The Future of AI Selfies With Snapchat, Amazon Combats Fake Reviews with AI.
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AI BYTE # 1 📢 - Google Launches Duet AI, a Smart and Creative Assistant for Workspace Apps
⭐ If you are a Google Workspace user, you might have noticed a new icon in the top-right corner of your apps. That’s Duet AI, Google’s new virtual assistant that can help you with various tasks across Gmail, Drive, Slides, Docs, and more.
Duet AI is not just a simple voice or text assistant. It is a smart and creative collaborator that can understand your context and goals, and offer suggestions and solutions accordingly.
You can ask Duet to do things like:
Turn your Google Docs outline into a presentation in Slides
Make a chart out of the data in a spreadsheet
Write an email response, generate images, or check your grammar
Find stuff in your Drive, summarize your documents, and more
Duet AI also has app-specific features that can enhance your experience in different Google apps.
For example, in Google Meet, Duet can improve your lighting and sound quality, and provide automated meeting summaries. In Chat, Duet can summarize long threads that you don’t have time to read.
Duet AI is powered by advanced AI models that can generate realistic and relevant content. However, it also tries to stay grounded in your data and files, so you don’t have to worry about it making up things or misinterpreting your information.
Of course, you should always double-check Duet’s output before using it.
Duet AI is now available for all Google Workspace users who pay $30 per user per month6. This is the same price as Microsoft’s Copilot, which is a similar AI system that works across most Office apps. Both tools are competing to offer the best AI features for office workers.
Duet AI is one of the most ambitious and innovative projects from Google. It aims to change the way we work with Google apps by making them more intelligent and collaborative.
If you want to learn more about Duet AI, you can check out Google’s official announcement here. You can also watch a demo video of Duet AI in action here.
And if you have any questions or feedback about Duet AI, feel free to leave a comment below.
AI BYTE # 2 📢 - The Future of AI Selfies is Here: Introducing Snapchat’s Dreams
⭐ Snapchat, the popular social media app, has launched a new feature called Dreams that lets users create and share generative AI selfies.
Dreams are based on open-source technology and use real-life selfies as inputs to generate different art styles and themes. Users can choose from various packs of Dreams, such as fantasy, doppelgangers, or back-to-school, and pay $1 for each additional pack after the first one.
Dreams are Snapchat’s latest attempt to make AI more playful and fun for its users, following the release of its My AI chatbot earlier this year.
The company says that Dreams fits into its vision of creating value for the Snapchat community by doing things that are sometimes a little bit silly and a little bit weird. Dreams also showcase the company’s creativity and innovation in using AI technology.
To use Dreams, users need to upload a series of selfies in the app and agree to the terms of service, which prohibit using someone else’s selfie or creating offensive or harmful content.
After selecting a pack of Dreams, users have to wait for about 30 minutes before they receive their results. The results are displayed as eight-photo packs that users can save or share with their friends.
Snapchat plans to add more options and features to Dreams in the future, such as allowing users to add their friends to their Dreams or create their own custom prompts.
The company also intends to introduce Sponsored Dreams, which will enable brands to advertise their products or services through Dreams. Snapchat hopes that Dreams will be a new way for users to express themselves and have fun with AI.
Dreams are currently available only in Australia and New Zealand but will be rolled out to the rest of the world in the coming weeks.
Snapchat has over 397 million daily users and is one of the largest platforms for sharing user-generated content. With Dreams, Snapchat aims to be the first app to expose millions of people to the potential and possibilities of generative AI selfies.
AI BYTE # 3 📢 - How Amazon Uses AI to Enhance Customer Reviews and Combat Fake Ones?
⭐ Customer reviews are an essential part of online shopping, as they help shoppers make informed decisions and provide feedback to sellers.
However, fake reviews that intentionally mislead customers are a serious problem that undermines trust and credibility. Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, is using artificial intelligence (AI) to combat fake reviews and enhance the utility of genuine ones.
Amazon recently introduced AI-generated customer review highlights, which present concise summaries of common themes and sentiments from written reviews.
The summarisation tool, currently undergoing testing since earlier this year, is available to select mobile users in the U.S. The feature enables product insights and allows easy access to reviews highlighting specific attributes of products like “ease of use” or “performance.”
The technology behind the review highlights is based on Amazon’s Community Guidelines, which act as parameters for its machine learning models in analyzing multiple data points to detect risks and fraud.
The analysis encompasses various data points, such as account relationships, sign-in activities, review histories, and indicators of unusual behaviour. Amazon also employs expert investigators in fraud-detection techniques to prevent fake reviews.
“Our goal is to ensure that every review in Amazon’s stores is trustworthy and reflects customers’ actual experiences. Amazon welcomes authentic reviews—whether positive or negative —but strictly prohibits fake reviews that intentionally mislead customers,” said David Montague, Vice President of Selling Partner Risk, at Amazon.
Amazon’s use of AI for customer reviews is not limited to summarization. The company also uses its Rekognition Content Moderation system to review harmful images in product reviews.
The system combines machine learning and human-in-the-loop review, starting with a 40% automated image decision and gradually improving. The system streamlines architecture, reduces effort and costs, and increases accuracy.
Amazon is strategically incorporating artificial intelligence into its product offerings. Instead of emphasising prominent AI chatbots or imaging tools, the company is concentrating on services that enable developers to build their own generative AI tools using its AWS cloud infrastructure.
Earlier this year, Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, said that generative AI holds significant implications for the company’s future.
Amazon’s efforts have yielded results, as the company reported blocking over 200 million suspected fake reviews in the past year using these methods. The retail platform acknowledges that a collaborative approach involving private sector entities, consumer groups, and governments is crucial for effectively addressing the problem.
However, despite Amazon’s endeavours, consumer groups believe that more needs to be done to combat the widespread issue of fake reviews.
While Amazon’s use of AI and legal actions against fake review operators have shown progress, the consumer group emphasizes the need for stronger legislative measures and further cooperation to ensure a genuine and trustworthy online shopping experience.
