AI Takes Over Super Bowl Ads; NYC Eyes Regulations

AI took center stage at Super Bowl LX, with brands leveraging the technology to create and promote commercials, according to TechCrunch. The game, which saw the Seattle Seahawks take on the New England Patriots, featured advertisements that were either AI-generated or promoted AI products, mirroring a trend from the previous year. The event also saw New York's state legislature considering bills to regulate the AI industry, as reported by The Verge.

Svedka Vodka's ad, titled "Shake Your Bots Off," was touted as the first primarily AI-generated national Super Bowl spot, according to TechCrunch. The 30-second commercial featured the company's robot character, Fembot, and her companion, Brobot, dancing at a party. Another ad, for Anthropic's AI platform, took jabs at competitors, specifically OpenAI, as noted by The Verge. The game, broadcast on NBC and Peacock, kicked off at 6:30 PM ET on Sunday, February 8th.

The Super Bowl wasn't the only place where AI was making headlines. The New York state legislature was considering two bills to regulate the industry, as reported by The Verge. One bill would require labels on AI-generated content, and the other would put a three-year pause on new data center construction. "AI data centers are becoming a bipartisan concern," wrote Terrence O'Brien of The Verge.

In other tech news, Apple was preparing to launch the iPhone 17e, almost exactly one year after launching the iPhone 16e, according to Mark Gurman, as reported by The Verge. The iPhone 17e was expected to feature an upgraded A19 chip and MagSafe.