And in some use cases,
Tech companies are racing to develop artificial intelligence agents capable of managing online shopping, with Perplexity leading the charge by launching its AI shopping agent for paying customers in the United States. This agent can navigate retail websites and execute purchases. However, early tests reveal that the process can take hours and often encounters issues, such as items being out of stock. In partnership with Stripe, Perplexity uses single-use debit cards to limit spending, ensuring that if the AI makes a mistake, it can only purchase low-cost items.
Google’s DeepMind named GenCast, capable of producing accurate 15-day weather forecasts, a significant improvement over the previous limit of 10 days. In a study published in the journal Nature, researchers reported that GenCast outperformed the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts’ models 97.2 percent of the time when predicting global wind speeds and temperatures. This advancement could have enormous socioeconomic benefits by aiding in disaster preparedness. The training for GenCast utilized 40 years of weather data, from 1979 to 2018, and it can generate forecasts in minutes, making it a timely tool for tracking severe weather events like hurricanes. The team emphasized that while GenCast enhances forecasting capabilities, it will likely complement existing methods rather than replace them.
Why do we care?
Domain-specific implementations stand out. Compare the two. Online shopping seems like a low-value solution, yet accurate 15-day weather forecasts are highly valuable. Continue to have a skeptical lens to broad consumer adoption and instead look to valuable, industry-specific solutions.