AI In All Industries

I had my first encounter with AI in healthcare this week. During a checkup, my physician entered the examination room with his trusty laptop (typical) and a smartphone set to record (new).

Before the appointment started, he explained that the healthcare system was testing a new AI system designed to record and summarize our conversation. He assured me he would personally review the AI-generated summaries daily for accuracy. When I asked for more information, he noted the trial had been ongoing for two months, acknowledging there had been some initial issues but emphasizing continuous updates had made it much better.

Both broadcasting and healthcare currently face similar challenges. Consolidation and financial pressures have significantly increased workloads and reshaped roles, often reducing direct interactions—voice tracking with audiences in broadcasting and telemedicine with patients in healthcare. However, both sectors have the opportunity to use AI responsibly to manage repetitive tasks, enabling professionals to focus more effectively on meaningful interactions with their audiences, patients, and colleagues.

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Sesame’s Conversational AI Stuns Beta Testers

Sesame, A Sudbury, New York-based AI startup, released a demo of its conversational speech model last week, and the technology trades have been impressed by its enhanced conversational abilities. Sesame’s model convincingly mimics human speech, including natural imperfections like stutters and filler words.

Users interacting with this AI have reported developing emotional connections, describing feelings of comfort and companionship.

I personally spent ten minutes chatting with “Maya,” one of Sesame’s AI voices. When asked about its training, it explained, “I can talk about anything searchable on Google,” and when questioned about its natural friendliness and lack of crankiness, it replied, “I could do it, but I’d just be acting.” This experience felt noticeably different compared to my interactions with OpenAI’s Voice Mode and a lot closer to the movie “Her.” [Try it here for free]

Apple Struggles with Siri-AI Integration
As Amazon gets closer to releasing Alexa+, Apple’s plans to release a more advanced, natural version of Siri might be delayed for several years, with the fully modernized Siri not expected until iOS 20. The upcoming rollout in iOS 18.5 will feature an LLM-powered upgrade that operates separately from the existing Siri system, potentially reducing seamless functionality. Although Apple’s goal is to integrate these models into a unified architecture capable of managing both simple and complex tasks, development has been hindered by internal challenges and staff departures to competing companies. [details]

DuckDuckGo Launches Anonymous AI Queries
The privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo has expanded its AI offerings by providing free, anonymous access to popular AI chatbots through Duck.ai, allowing users private interactions without needing an account. Users can customize or disable AI-generated answers entirely, ensuring a privacy-oriented search experience tailored to individual preferences. [details]

Google Adds Gemini Insights to Sheets
Let the data-geeks in your office know Google has enhanced Sheets with Gemini capabilities, enabling advanced data analysis and visualization features. Additionally, Gemini can now generate sophisticated visualizations directly within Google Sheets. [details]