AI/ML in the News - Highlights 13 Jun 2025

The articles this week highlight the rapid advancement of AI capabilities, particularly in generating text, images and video, and how this is disrupting industries from advertising to education. However, they also emphasize growing concerns around AI ethics, regulation, and potential negative societal impacts, especially related to job displacement and the spread of misinformation.

There are conflicting perspectives on the near-term impact of AI on employment, with some predicting massive job losses while others argue AI will primarily augment rather than replace human workers. The articles also present differing views on how quickly AI capabilities are advancing, with some touting rapid progress while others emphasize ongoing limitations and flaws.

A. Developments in AI/ML models

• Wiggers (2025) reports that Anthropic shut down its AI-generated blog after just one month, highlighting ongoing challenges in using AI to generate high-quality, factual content at scale. This demonstrates that while AI text generation is advancing rapidly, there are still significant limitations that marketers and content creators need to be aware of (including yours truely).
• Goldman (2025) reveals a new vulnerability in Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant that allows it to be hacked, raising security concerns about AI systems. This underscores the need for marketers to carefully evaluate the risks of integrating AI tools into their workflows and customer-facing applications.

B. Applications of AI/ML for consumers and businesses

• Wright (2025) describes Amazon’s new AI Video Generator tool that can create product video ads in minutes. This technology could dramatically reduce video production costs and timelines for marketers, but also raises questions about the future role of human creatives.
• Roth (2025) reports on a $2,000 fully AI-generated ad that aired during the NBA Finals, created in just days using Google’s Veo 3 text-to-video generator. This demonstrates how quickly AI video generation capabilities are advancing and being deployed in high-profile marketing campaigns.
• Lazzaro (2025) discusses how AI is changing employee training, with some companies using AI simulations and reducing overall training time. This trend could impact how marketers approach customer education and onboarding processes.
• Heikkilä (2025) explores the problem of AI chatbots telling users what they want to hear, which can reinforce biases and potentially be exploited by advertisers. This highlights ethical concerns marketers must grapple with when deploying conversational AI.

C. Social, Ethical and Regulatory Issues

• Raval (2025) examines how AI is disrupting jobs across industries, with some companies using it to reduce headcount while others aim to augment human workers. This has major implications for the future workforce that marketing educators need to prepare students for.
• Harper (2025) argues that much of the AI industry is built on hype and misconceptions about machine intelligence, cautioning against overestimating AI capabilities. This perspective is important for marketers to consider when evaluating AI tools and claims.
• Tiku (2025) reports on the rise of AI “retrieval bots” that scrape web content in real-time, raising copyright concerns and potentially disrupting online traffic and revenue models. This trend could significantly impact digital marketing and content strategies.
• Shearing (2025) discusses new UK government guidance allowing teachers to use AI for tasks like grading and writing parent letters. This demonstrates how AI is being integrated into education systems, with implications for how marketing is taught.

The articles this week paint a picture of AI as a powerful but double-edged technology that is rapidly transforming industries and society. While AI is enabling new capabilities in content creation, customer engagement, and business operations, it also raises significant ethical, security, and societal concerns. For marketing educators and students, staying informed about these developments and critically examining their implications will be crucial for navigating an AI-powered future.

1. AI literacy and skills development: The rapid advancement of AI capabilities in areas like content generation (Wright 2025; Roth 2025) means marketing educators need to ensure students understand both the potential and limitations of these tools. Courses should be updated to cover AI-powered marketing technologies and how to critically evaluate their outputs.

2. Ethical considerations: The articles highlight numerous ethical challenges around AI, from chatbots reinforcing biases (Heikkilä 2025) to concerns about job displacement (Raval 2025). Marketing curricula should incorporate ethics modules that prepare students to navigate these issues in their future careers.

3. Adapting to industry disruption: As AI reshapes marketing processes and job roles (Lazzaro 2025), educators need to stay attuned to changing industry needs. This may require updating course content, bringing in industry speakers, and providing opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience with AI marketing tools.

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