Al: Supercharging Growth and Innovation

As AI models continue to improve, the social media algorithms they power will grow more robust as well

- SANDHYA DEVANATHAN

THERE ARE YEARS where decades happen, and 2023 seemed to be one of those. Especially in the world of the internet and technology. The year saw Generative AI (artificial intelligence), or GenAI, truly enter the public arena. Platforms allowed AI to go beyond computer labs and corporate confines and find utility in our everyday lives.

Social media platforms, too, grew more integral to our daily existence. They are the new town squares and are also emerging as the new marketplaces, enabling entrepreneurs, both first-time and seasoned, to find increasingly larger audiences. This, of course, is besides the content creator boom that we’ve witnessed, which has seen digital influencers grow to rival more mainstream celebrities.

The year ahead, I believe, will see both these trends not just amplify but intertwine inextricably. While AI will find new and more advanced applications in fields as far-flung as medicine, agriculture, entertainment, and law, it will also have an indelible impact on social media.

As AI models continue to improve, the social media algorithms they power will grow more robust as well. Not only will AI be able to suggest interesting content ideas based on their audiences, but GenAI tools that can conjure up images (and even videos) based on brief text descriptions will add a new, more polished dimension to their story-telling. This will mean more tailored feeds and greater discoverability for small creators with big ideas, allowing them to compete with their more established peers.