It’s not totally schizophrenic but there’s a certain bipolarity to the idea that Zoom is simultaneously expanding its business into both the world of deepfakes and the streets of London. 

Eric Yuan, Zoom’s CEO, is talking about sending your AI-generated clone to your next meeting, because that will free you to invest in human connection. In other words, you’ll create a deepfake of yourself and send it off to the meeting as your proxy. Seems like it would work for some meetings that are more like lectures, but what about decision-making and consensus? Are we abdicating that to our avatars? And how many clones can one person have? To find out more of what’s inside Yuan’s brain, listen to the Verge’s interview. 

Elsewhere on the streets of London, Zoom is rolling out its Immersive Experience Center, which is a physical destination that spans over 18,000 square feet. According to the press release, the centerpiece is the Lens Wall, which is a 125-foot-long ambient fabric wall. There’s also a curved LED screen with multi-touch interactivity, providing a 360-degree visual experience that can be customized for each guest during demonstrations and workshops. And finally, you’ll be able to visit the Boardroom of the Future, equipped with floor-to-ceiling seamless curved 8K LED screens and state-of-the-art audio systems. 

My guess is that customers will delight in trying Zoom and all the accouterments before they buy similar installations that will be sold into offices everywhere. For the rest of us, hopefully, we can always rent. I can see a world with mini Zoom centers, a creative use for empty office space. 

Last week’s Apple event was widely covered in all the media, but many missed the real story of how Apple’s AI smarts will live on the device, not in the cloud. True to character, Apple did what it does best. It created a closed system that keeps your data more protected and private when using Apple Intelligence (AI). 

But you are likely to need a new device. As per Wired, to use Apple Intelligence, you need an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max. A regular old iPhone 15 won’t do, meaning a mobile well under a year old is already obsolete for AI’s purposes. Mac users just need an Apple Silicon computer, meaning one released in 2020 or newer. 

Apple’s closed systems have always been a two-edged sword. In the same way that Apple won’t play nicely with video standards–it’s why Android users see degraded videos sent from an iPhone–it may also cause some AI interoperability issues. For example, Apple’s AI will organize your on-device photos and messages but I’m guessing it won’t share nicely. Any bets?

Oh yeah, one silver lining of on-device processing? It will cut down on some of those power-hungry server farms. 

Making Events More Sustainable
Say hello to Michele Fox. A seasoned events planner, Michele has built a membership association, MUSE, that lists companies from bakeries to florists that are committed to sustainability. Memberships are available to those who qualify (vetted by Fox) for $99. 

A Penny for Your .AI
Nicholas Thompson of the Atlantic writes on his LinkedIn feed “The most interesting thing in tech: the island of Anguilla makes money each time a company registers a new website domain ending in ’.ai’. A bit more than 20% of Anguilla's government revenue in 2023 was generated this way. It's a sly, quirky way that AI has done something good for the world.” Remember, .co (from the country of Columbia) has a similar situation. What’s the next country to add to its GDP because of its initials? 

Cvent Makes a Helluva Acquisition
Cvwent, one of the largest events services platforms, acquired Reposite an AI-powered database that can make matches between a service or supplier (say an event space or a caterer) and you for your event. It’ll pair a planner’s RFPs with the best-fit suppliers based on filters such as geography, group size, event dates, target audience, and other user preferences. Once it’s done searching it can generate, send out, and manage RFPs. If it works as advertised it could be a game changer.

Where Have All the Podcasts Gone?
Here today, podded out tomorrow. For every active podcast there seem to be many more that have bit the dust, says this study by Podchaser.