Picture this: It is March 1st, 2022. It has been a long day of classes and homework. Yet, all you can look forward to is the upcoming Saturday, as you will be boarding a flight to Florida for your final spring break with your college roommates.
As you climb into bed and prepare to call it a night, you aimlessly scroll through TikTok. Then, after a few minutes, you stumble upon a TikTok naming the best nightclubs and restaurants in Tampa, Florida.
Each of these locations is within ten minutes of the hotel you have booked for the upcoming week. This situation can be considered an example of AI or artificial intelligence.
Whether you find this "artificially intelligent" or instead of an absolute invasion of privacy is up to you.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
As stated by AdAge, artificial intelligence systems aim "to transform vast amounts of complex, ambiguous information into insight." That can be accomplished through several means and for a variety of purposes.
These purposes range from creating chess-playing computers to personalizing marketing tactics. Yet, despite the purposes behind utilizing AI, the access the systems establish remains the same.
This access includes "the entirety of an individual's social activity: every word, every picture, every emoji," as stated by AdAge.
Artificial Intelligence in Advertising
As artificial intelligence systems have progressed over the past several years, advertising agencies have started implementing their offered services more and more. As a result, the digital footprints consumers leave behind while surfing the Internet are becoming analyzed at extreme depths.
Amazon & AI
Since its creation in 1994, Amazon has branched off from a simple online bookseller to a renowned artificial intelligence expert. According to Bernard Marr & Co., Amazon utilizes AI with digital voice assistant Alexa to ship products to consumers even before buying the products. They also apply AI in their personalized advertisements in its more recent features, Amazon Go.
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| Amazon Go store in New York City, New York Photo provided by Forbes |
Also summarized by Bernard Marr & Co., Amazon Go stores utilize artificial intelligence to avoid customer checkouts. Instead, consumers bring their bags to these locations, pick up what they need, and charge for said items through the Amazon Go app on their phones.
The Ethics Behind Utilizing AI in Advertising
This consumer behavior analysis now available to the advertising industry can be considered both good and bad. AI allows the advertising industry to access any information consumers leave on the web to customize future advertisements, social media posts, and messages.
Many consider this a positive advancement as they search for various products and services becomes simplified. But, on the other hand, several find this technology to be somewhat invasive, as our Internet history, searches, and movements are no longer simply our own.
Whether a conclusion regarding the ethics behind utilizing AI in advertising does not matter, however, what does matter is that AI is undoubtedly here to stay.
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