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Aug. 19, 2024

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'AI Snake Oil' Sorts Promise from Hype

The hype surrounding artificial intelligence is everywhere, from get-rich-quick schemes to fears of sentient robots replacing humans.

A quick Amazon search retrieves more than a thousand “books on ChatGPT.” At least three on the first results page include the word “millionaire” in the title. Others are entirely AI-written with bogus claims of legitimate authorship.

Yet AI offers much promise to merchants — content tools, productivity, search engine optimization, you name it.

A new book, “AI Snake Oil: What AI Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference,” coming September 24 from Princeton University Press, aims to help non-experts separate reality from hype. The authors are two of “Time” magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in AI.” Arvind Narayanan is a professor of computer science and director of Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy. 

Read article > 

A Message from Walmart Marketplace

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Walmart Fulfillment Services is here to help. Sellers and customers love Walmart Fulfillment Services' cost-effective 2-day shipping, even for big and multi-box orders. Sign up to sell on Walmart.com and take advantage of everything Walmart Fulfillment Services has to offer. Sign up >

Charts: Global Economic Outlook Q3 2024

We recap the latest forecasts from the International Monetary Fund on global economic growth. Read article >

BigCommerce Rising: Q2 2024 Recap

BigCommerce's financial results point to better days for the pioneering ecommerce platform. Read article >

Flywheels Ease Content, Social Media Marketing

Content and social media are distinct marketing disciplines with a shared problem. Both must produce engaging material despite limited time and money. Read article > 

From the Archive: December 2016

U.S. Robotics Founder on Early-day Internet, Entrepreneurship

Without U.S. Robotics, the pioneering modem manufacturer, there arguably would not be a World Wide Web. I recently spoke with the co-founder of U.S. Robotics, Casey Cowell. Read article >

🔥 Today's Great Ecommerce Idea

Use AI to Brainstorm Content

"Utilize AI tools to brainstorm content ideas and outlines, streamlining the creative process for blog posts and other content creation tasks." - Katrina McKinnon, Founder, CopySmiths

🎙️ Ecommerce Conversations Podcast

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