WarGames. The Matrix. 2001: a Space Odyssey. No matter how many times we’re warned against autonomous AI, people continue to build it. Agentic AI leader Salesforce is trying to limit the risk it’s creating by launching Agentforce Testing Center, which will let users test prototype agents in a secure, sandbox-like environment. They can (safely?) be let loose in the wild once properly configured.
Omnichannel advertising platform Mediaocean will acquire adtech platform Innovid at an equity value of around $525 million. Together they will provide offerings they describe as “complementary” including ad delivery, creative personalization and measurement and optimization across channels. Innovid will merge with ad management and analytics platform Flashtalking which Mediaocean acquired in 2021.
Sixty-seven percent of media experts say that diminished consumer trust in the main social media platforms will be a drag on ad spend in the next twelve months according to a survey by Integral Ad Science (IAS). Over 50% say social media is the channel most vulnerable to ad fraud and brand risk. Nevertheless, it’s the top media priority for 61%, well ahead of digital advertising (43%).
Enterprise AI vendor Uniphore has acquired CDP ActionIQ and cloud data engineering system Infoworks. The combination of products will create a Zero Data AI Cloud that simplifies AI deployments by enabling companies to access data for AI projects without moving it from existing systems. Prices were not announced.