A few months ago, it wasn’t uncommon to hear company executives compare artificial intelligence to a super-efficient intern: fast and keen, but you will want to check their work before it goes to the client.
This week’s crop of earnings from Silicon Valley shows this imaginary intern is ready to take on a more substantial corporate role. Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet, which recently reported, each beat analysts’ profit estimates, as copious AI investment turns into actual revenue and real-world results.
Take Meta, where AI is a product and an employee. Founder Mark Zuckerberg this week reiterated the social network’s AI will be able to code as well as a mid-range software engineer some time this year. He is also using homegrown models to make ads on Facebook and other apps more lucrative, as users click on them more often. AI is also coaxing Instagram users to stick about 6 per cent longer than they did a year ago.