By Marty Swant • December 29, 2023 • 11 min read •
Click on the image to view the full article
This editorial series examines industry trends across the media, media buying and marketing sectors as 2023 closes and the new year begins. More from the series →
As 2023 draws to a close and a new year beckons, the generative AI race created fresh promises and perils across marketing, media, and technology. After a myriad of headlines about innovation and misinformation, a single story is inadequate to capture the sheer volume of AI news that unfolded during the year.
Nevertheless, Digiday has endeavored to document some of the most significant news that transpired each month. This compilation is by no means exhaustive or a “best of” list, but it offers a glimpse into how innovation and legislation have been influenced by the impact of AI in a single year.
Instead of penning an extensive introduction to summarize 2023, we decided to have Google Bard distill our timeline into a TL/DR. Here’s the bot’s summarized paragraph:
“The year 2023 was a landmark period in the field of artificial intelligence, characterized by a surge in generative AI advancements and adoption across various sectors, led by significant events such as Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI and the launch of GPT-4. This rapid growth, however, was paralleled by rising ethical, legal, and regulatory challenges, highlighted by copyright infringement lawsuits against AI companies and increased government involvement, including the U.S. Senate’s AI hearings and President Biden’s executive order. These developments collectively signaled a shift in the AI landscape, where technological innovation is increasingly intertwined with calls for responsible development and oversight.”
January:
Microsoft further fueled the generative AI boom when it announced an extended partnership with OpenAI after weeks of reports that it had invested $10 billion into the then-small research startup. (Days before its big announcement, MSFT announced plans to lay off 10,000 employees.)
Other January news
- Shutterstock added new generative AI features into its platform.
- During CES 2023, Nvidia debuted new generative AI technologies for its Omniverse platform to help create virtual worlds faster.
- Getty Images filed a lawsuit against Stability AI, alleging the text-to-image startup illegally copied and processed millions of images without permission. Another lawsuit against Stability AI and Midjourney was filed the same month by a group of artists, who also alleged copyright infringement.
In February, momentum for generative AI began building beyond just tech giants. As Meta and Snapchat rolled out new tools, agencies — including Horizon, DDB and Havas — unveiled new generative AI capabilities for clients.