This week, two of the biggest tech giants, Amazon and Snap Inc. made news in the AI field. On one hand, Amazon announced the use of AI to enhance customer reviews, while on the other, Snap Inc. saw its AI-powered ‘filter’ turn rogue, leading to the termination of the company’s recently released video calling filters.
Amazon has introduced its new AI-powered ‘customer reviews’ feature with the aim to increase customer engagement. The company claims that this new feature will enable customers to get better insights into what other shoppers felt about a product. The AI-based algorithm is set to analyze customer reviews in order to rate them based on their relevance and helpfulness. It will then use these ratings to suggest reviews that are the most helpful to potential buyers.
On the other hand, Snap Inc.’s AI-powered face filters, released last week, turned rogue. The filters, which were meant to create ‘celesbian’ video calls, turned into a comedic disaster for the company as many of the generated images posted on Twitter contained some inappropriate content. Snap Inc. had to disable the app, prompting a big backlash from users.
It seems that both tech giants have had their fair share of highs and lows in the AI field this week. Amazon’s move to enhance customer reviews with AI is likely to prove beneficial to online shoppers, while Snap Inc.’s filter episode serves as a reminder that AI is far from perfect. It seems that even though there is potential for AI to be immensely helpful, it is also volatile. Companies should be sure to monitor their AI-powered projects closely in order to avoid similar mishaps.
