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<ul><li>There’s a new superhero on the block: Edelweiss Tokio Life’s Covid Shield+.</li><li>The advertisement cuts through the cluttered digital space with a much-needed comic relief.</li></ul><keyword id="824259" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Edelweiss-Tokio-Life-Insurance">Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance</keyword> has launched the campaign #SavingsKaSaviour for its new product offering Covid Shield+. The product aims to secure people’s dreams and aspirations from the financial impact of a Covid-19 diagnosis. The product, which carries a 1-year tenure, offers a substantial critical illness benefit, a term cover, is cost effective and gives instant decisioning without any medical examination. <div type="Youtube" id="DIYwL-IqBCs" title="Edelweiss Tokio Life - COVID Shield+" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DIYwL-IqBCs/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Abhishek Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance said, “Based on insights collected over the past few years, critical illnesses have been an area of concern for customers as they have a significant impact on savings and affect our future aspirations. The magnitude of Covid 19 far exceeds any other critical illnesses and there is a vast distortion in the private healthcare cost for treating this disease. We let these insights guide us not only in product design but also in our creative process.” The ad film, which forms the centerpiece of the campaign, reimagines Covid 19 as Daku Corona, threatening to snatch away an unassuming child Savings from the clutches of his doting family. However, in the nick of time, a new hero – Savings Ka Saviour – comes to the fore to rescue Savings from Daku Corona. “Customers are primarily consuming content through online media and the space has become severely cluttered. So, in dealing with a subject that has been spoken about at length over the past 7 months, we needed a fresh take that can offer relief to our audience while remaining true to our brand ethos. We have an unmoving focus on enabling our customers live #ZindagiUnlimited, which reflects in Covid Shield+ as a product. We have tried to capture that essence in this film,” Gupta added.

Edelweiss Tokio Life’s Daku Corona ad takes you back to the 90s

Gone are the days of those online and unwritten wars of startups in India. Now, this real fight between 32 startup entrepreneurs will blow your mind once they enter into the boxing ring for a one-on-one pitch battle. 
 The global startup competition, ‘<keyword id="3101004" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Get-in-the-Ring">Get in the Ring</keyword>,’ has received over 240 entries for the competition that will take place in three categories: 
 
· Light-weight 
· Middle-weight 
· Heavy-weight 
 
In the next phase of this war, the winners from India will get a chance to participate in the Asian finals that is slated to be held in South Korea. During the international finals, winners from around 10 countries will fight for the final spot. And then, the final winner will get an investment of up to 1 million, reported The Economic Times. 
 Jochem Cuppen, global director of Get in the Ring (<keyword id="1151869" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="GITR">GITR</keyword>) Foundation, says, "I have seen that in the past years, India has become so much better in converting the available talent to workable ideas and companies, so I am expecting a lot from these (shortlisted) startups.” 
 
GITR, which is a non-profit organisation backed by Kauffman Foundation, is barely three years old but has emerged as one of the leading firm of its kind with national-level events conducted in over 80 countries. 
 As part of the ongoing <keyword id="6372077" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nasscom">Nasscom</keyword> Product Conclave, the event is being organised by Nasscom in collaboration with Trifecta Capital and TLabs. 
 Those who will play the judge of the competition includes Dave McLure of 500 startups, Ravi Gururaj of Nasscom, Mukund Mohan of <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> Ventures, Stephen Lurie of Team Builder Ventures, Rahul Khanna of Trifecta Capital, and Abhishek Gupta of TLabs. 
 
The investment battle will begin with a five round verbal sparring in front of a full-house audience. 
Image: thinkstock

Indian startups to come to blows in ‘Get in the Ring’ competition

Satya Nadella-run <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> is in advanced talks to invest in Airbnb-backed Indian budget hotel chain <keyword id="2808667" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="OYO">OYO</keyword> at a valuation of $9 billion, the media reported on Friday. According to a TechCrunch report citing sources, a deal may close soon but the "proposed size of the investment is unclear". Both Microsoft and OYO declined to comment on the reports. The Ritesh Agarwal-run hospitality chain has Airbnb, Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing and ride-hailing firm Grab as strategic investors. The news comes after OYO announced earlier this month that it has raised $660 million from global institutional investors as <keyword id="4462417" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="tlb">TLB</keyword> (Term Loan B). A company statement had said that the offer was oversubscribed by 1.7 times and the company received commitments of close to $1 billion from leading institutional investors. "We are delighted by the response to OYO's maiden TLB capital raise that was oversubscribed by leading global institutional investors. We are thankful for the trust that they have placed in OYO's mission of creating value for owners and operators of hotels and homes across the globe," said Abhishek Gupta, Group Chief Financial Officer, OYO. The company said it will utilise these funds to retire its past debts, strengthen the balance sheet and other business purposes including investment in product technology, it said. OYO is the first Indian startup to be publicly rated by Moody's and <keyword id="82981" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Fitch">Fitch</keyword>, two of the leading international rating agencies. The Microsoft deal "may also involve OYO shifting to use its cloud services," the report mentioned. OYO has aggressively been expanding its operations to several markets including Southeast Asia, Europe and the US in recent years. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/tech-mahindra-shares-price-jump-because-management-sees-a-10-plus-growth/articleshow/84882133.cms">Tech Mahindra shares surge as for the first time in over five years the management sees a 10% plus growth</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/cleartax-major-acquisitions-and-hiring-2021-funding-on-the-way/articleshow/84880048.cms">Clear(Tax) has planned major acquisitions and hiring for this year, in talks with investors to raise funds</a>

Microsoft is in advanced talks to invest in OYO at a valuation of $9 billion, say media reports

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>The worst heat wave in nearly 35 years has killed over 1,000 people in Pakistan's city of Karachi. The Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/24/world/asia/pakistan-says-more-than-600-have-died-in-heat-wave.html">declared a state of emergency</a> on Tuesday, while the army set up emergency treatment centers."There is no space left in the government hospitals to keep the dead bodies," Anwaar Kazmi, a spokesman for rescue agency Edhi Foundation who runs the largest private ambulance service in Karachi, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-24/heat-wave-death-toll-rises-to-2-000-in-pakistan-s-financial-hub">told Bloomberg on Wednesday</a>.The temperatures in Karachi reached 111 Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius) over the weekend - the highest since 1981. They dipped slightly to 100 F on Thursday, but there still hasn't been <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/25/us-pakistan-heatwave-idUSKBN0P40FV20150625">any significant rain fall</a>.The heat wave's effects have been amplified by the "severe" electricity cuts that have left "<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/25/us-pakistan-heatwave-idUSKBN0P40FV20150625">many without fans, water or light</a>," Reuters reports.Furthermore, as it is currently Ramadan, Muslims are not eating or drinking during daylight hours. In other words, many - especially those who work outside - are dehydrated during the day. "Some shops have refused to sell ice or water during the day, citing religious laws that mean they can be fined," Reuters notes."The situation, if uncontrolled, could lead to social unrest and pose a challenge," writes Bank of America's India Economist Abhishek Gupta. "This is likely to result in the postponement of reforms in the power sector.""With a history of military coups, political instability remains a perennial risk," Gupta added. "The current heatwave is likely to aggravate the power crisis with calls for nationalization." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-lebron-james-spends-money-nba-salary-2015-4">How LeBron James spends his money</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="A1Y2VudDqRdoRbXU6D5a41TZ_JCLE1oQ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Over 1,000 killed by Pakistan heat wave: "There is no space left ... to keep the dead bodies"

As international borders reopen with the Covid situation easing, studying abroad is set to grow in the coming years and according to new forecast, over 18 lakh <keyword id="43976" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-students" source="Orion">Indian students</keyword> are set to opt for <keyword id="12237833" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="foreign-colleges-and-universities" source="Orion">foreign colleges and universities</keyword> by 2024. While the demand for studying abroad is increasing and the outflow is also increasing, student expenditure is soaring and is likely to touch $75-85 billion by 2024, which will be an increase of more than 2 times from 2019. While the sector faced a stunted growth in 2020-21 as international borders were closed to combat Covid, it is now expected to regain momentum as things become normal, according to the report by Bengaluru-based market research firm <keyword id="3359665" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="RedSeer" source="Orion">RedSeer</keyword>. "We are bullish about this segment's growth in the coming years. Our research shows that the total number of Indian students studying abroad will stand at around 18 lakh by 2024," said Abhishek Gupta, engagement manager at RedSeer. Nearly 7,00,000 students applied to study abroad in 2019. "In 2019 alone, around 420k students headed out but the total number of applicants was around 1.7 times. This colossal increase is due to factors like rise in GDP in the past two decades leading to more consumption and awareness about education abroad," Gupta mentioned. The growth in the outflow rates had outpaced domestic student growth by 6 times in 2016-19 which shows the massive demand that this segment is witnessing. "Our research shows that currently, 770k Indian students are studying abroad from 440K in 2016 which is a 20 per cent growth. On the other hand, the growth in the domestic region has been merely 3 per cent when compared to the demand for education abroad," the analyst informed. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/adani-green-shares-jump-as-the-group-adds-5-gigawatts-of-renewable-energy-capacity-with-a-3-5-billion-deal-with-softbank-and-bharti-group/articleshow/86746182.cms">Adani Green shares jump as the group adds 5 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity with a $3.5 billion deal with Softbank and Bharti Group</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/the-earth-is-losing-its-shine-and-heres-why-we-should-be-worried/articleshow/86746118.cms">The earth is losing its shine and here’s why we should be worried</a>

Over 18 lakh Indian students to go for foreign education by 2024, says report

<ul><li>The reported acquisition of <keyword id="6434843" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="freshmenu">Freshmenu</keyword> could happen for $60 million. </li><li>Oyo and Freshmenu have a common investor – Lightspeed Venture Partners. </li><li>The hospitality unicorn has big dreams – it wants to become the world’s largest hotel chain in two years. </li></ul>Indian hospitality unicorn Oyo Rooms is <a href="https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/oyo-in-talks-to-acquire-freshmenu-for-60m/68104058">reportedly</a> looking at venturing into foodtech by acquiring cloud kitchen startup Freshmenu. The acquisition, which could be valued at $50-60 million according to ETtech, will mark Oyo’s entry in the food space. Freshmenu, as a cloud kitchen startup (accepts only online delivery), has its own kitchens and delivery. Since its launch in 2014, the startup has gone on to have over <a href="https://yourstory.com/2019/01/freshmenu-funding-lightspeed-ventures">27</a> kitchens across Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi. In November, <a href="https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/startups/freshmenu-revenues-jump-72-to-rs-122-3-cr-even-as-losses-remain-flat-in-fy18/66868516">ETtech</a> reported that Freshmenu had seen a jump in its revenues to 72% at ₹122.3 crore in FY18 compared with ₹71 crore in FY17. Oyo and Freshmenu have a common investor – Lightspeed Venture Partners – and <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/oyo-rooms-may-invest-in-freshmenu-to-enter-food-delivery-business-3571111.html">reportedly</a>, it is Lightspeed that has brought the two startups together. Oyo Rooms has big ambitions – it wants to become the world’s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/former-indigo-chief-is-aiming-to-make-the-6-year-old-oyo-the-worlds-largest-hotel-chain/articleshow/67536612.cms">biggest</a> hotel chain in the next two years. Introducing F&amp;B services will help the hospitality chain to offer more to its consumers. Meanwhile, Freshmenu works with Zomato and Swiggy and receives most of its orders from the two platforms. The hospitality startup Oyo had turned into a unicorn in 2018 after it received a funding of $800 million at a valuation of $5 billion. It has also made a mark globally in China, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and is even considering entering the big league with its entry into the US markets. In China, it become one of the top 10 hotel chains in just one year of operations. “Globally, we have reached over 4,58,000 fully controlled leased and franchised keys (rooms) with a realised value run rate of $1.8 billion,” said its CFO Abhishek Gupta to <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/sme/oyo-grows-over-4x-on-year-to-1-8-billion-claims-adding-more-rooms-than-top-3-hotel-chains-combined/1480527/">Financial Express</a>. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/former-indigo-chief-is-aiming-to-make-the-6-year-old-oyo-the-worlds-largest-hotel-chain/articleshow/67536612.cms">A 6-year-old Indian startup wants to be world’s biggest hotel chain</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/oyo-rooms-is-the-most-valuable-hotel-chain-in-south-asia-after-softbank-investment/articleshow/65964564.cms">OYO Rooms is the most valuable “hotel chain” in South Asia after Softbank investment</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/this-24-year-old-dropped-out-of-college-won-funding-from-peter-thiel-then-raised-480-million-for-his-startup/articleshow/65910683.cms">This 24-year-old dropped out of college, won funding from Peter Thiel, then raised $480 million for his startup</a>

Oyo wants a bite of foodtech, may acquire Freshmenu: Report

As we draw a close to a whole year and usher in the New Year, all of us need to do certain things to take a relook at our <keyword id="2672828" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="financial-positions">financial positions</keyword>. This helps us in taking stock of our funds, investments, loans and <keyword id="25450" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="savings">savings</keyword>. When we take stock of things, it helps us right our wrongs, and hence, plan necessary changes to better our financial planning. Following are the important aspects of our funds that we need to relook at: 
 
· Relook at retirement plans: Abhishek Gupta used to live in Mumbai. He is from Secunderabad. He inherited his father’s house in his hometown. “I had given it on rent and earning around Rs 15,000 a month. This rent used to go towards retirement planning option I had opted for. I desperately wanted to increase the contribution towards the fund. So I worked towards it, got a transfer to my hometown, gave the 1 BHK house that I owned in Mumbai on rent. It fetches me Rs 25,000 a month. So the contribution towards my retirement plan went up.” 
 
· Review your spending habits: Take a relook at where your every pie is going. Make a list of every expense you incur and make up your mind cut down on those expenses, which can be avoided. In fact you do not have to wait for the New Year. We, at Creditvidya.com, always encourage our clients to cut expenses on a month-on-month basis. 
 
· Do contribute to charity: Your contribution towards charity, philanthropy or national relief fund get exempted from tax under Section 80G on <keyword id="6354751" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Income-Tax">Income Tax</keyword> Act. Not that you get to enjoy this money, at least you have the satisfaction of doing something for a social cause. 
 
· Plan something for other sources of income: It could be a tax refund or the annual dividend you earned on the shares you held or your mutual fund investment. Make sure you plough them back for better returns. If it is itching so much to spend it, may be spend a part of it, but not the whole of it. Get habituated to saving money, don’t make it an occasion. 
 
· Resolve to pay up some bit towards loan principal. It may be a car loan, home loan or a loan against property. Just decide and keep aside some bit to pay towards the principal. That way you save a lot of money on interest and work towards closing your loan account sooner. 
 
About the author: Rajiv Raj is the director and co-founder of<a href="http://www.creditvidya.com/">www.creditvidya.com</a>.

Five Important Money Moves To Make For This New Year

<ul><li>In our latest interview series, we talk to brands to understand how they are coping with the new normal and their strategies towards navigating these difficult times.</li><li><keyword id="178450" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Abhishek-Gupta">Abhishek Gupta</keyword>, CMO, <keyword id="636217" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Edelweiss-Tokio-Life">Edelweiss Tokio Life</keyword> helps us understand how the <keyword id="6512638" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="insurance-sector">insurance sector</keyword> has been impacted and how the brand prepared itself to face these uncertain times. </li><li>He also tells us about his priorities as a marketer during times of crisis and his learnings from the experience so far. </li></ul>The <keyword id="8829783" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus-pandemic">Coronavirus pandemic</keyword> and the resulting lockdown has disrupted the world. There has been a lot of interesting changes in <keyword id="139079" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Consumer-behaviour">consumer behaviour</keyword> over the past few months, especially in the insurance sector. Before the pandemic, buying insurance was largely dependent on face-to-face counsel from advisors and wasn’t really considered an absolutely necessary financial instrument. However, in the times since the outbreak, people have started recognizing the importance of insurance. People are recognising the importance of family and tilting towards safeguarding their aspirations. While the overall industry has witnessed a slowdown, agile brands have been able to adapt to the changing times and needs and been able to stay afloat. We recently spoke to Abhishek Gupta, CMO, Edelweiss Tokio Life to understand how the market has been impacted and how the brand prepared itself to face these uncertain times. He also tells us about his priorities as a marketer during times of crisis and how he’s tweaked the brand’s marketing strategy during the lockdown. Excerpts: Q) How has the lockdown period been for you so far? How have your consumers reacted? The initial transition from office to work-from-home (WFH), now seems like a distant memory, as we step into Lockdown 4.0. As an organisation and a brand, we did not have to make any extraordinary changes to move to a seamless WFH. We had digitally transformed our processes and operational capabilities in recent years, which to a large extent, has facilitated an easy transition for us. Following the initial impact in March, which is a business-critical month for insurance, we found our footing in April and have sustained it since. Our APE has grown nearly 60% year-on-year in April as we have been able to re-orient ourselves and respond to evolving expectations of our stakeholders. The lockdown experience has been disorienting for customers across sectors. We have proactively taken steps to counsel our customers and provide them access to authentic information. The pandemic has led to a significant shift in how customers perceive the insurance category. With risk to future cashflows and health uncertainties in focus, insurance has become far more important. Discretionary spending is at a standstill and customers are now looking at insurance as an avenue for long-term wealth creation to protect their dreams and aspirations. Q) Has there been any interesting consumer behaviour trend you've noticed in the past few weeks? Before the onset of Covid-19, insurance buying was largely dependent on face-to-face counsel from advisors and was not considered as a must-have financial instrument. The pandemic has changed both these paradigms. Given the magnitude of health risks we currently face, protection has become crucial and people are beginning to recognise that they need insurance to provide for their long-term goals. Also, the impact on current cashflows has elevated the importance of savings. So, customers are looking at insurance as a secure means for wealth accumulation and creation. The pandemic has also significantly affected people’s emotional quotient. People have become much more cognisant of their social responsibility and we are seeing simple acts of kindness across geographies. People are recognising the importance of family and increasingly all consumption behaviour is tilting towards safeguarding their aspirations. Self-reliance is slowly becoming a habit now, considering social distancing is likely to continue in the near future. Q) Insurance is one of the few sectors that hasn't been impacted due to the lockdown. Have you seen an increase in people buying life insurance policies? The overall sector has experienced a considerable slowdown since the first lockdown was announced. But companies that have been agile and reinvented themselves quickly, have managed to stay buoyant. There is certainly an increased interest to buy insurance and that is reflecting across the board – be it with insurance companies, aggregators or brokers. As mentioned before, our APE has recorded a nearly 60% year on year growth in April, which reflects increased customer interest. Q) While it would have been difficult for anyone to predict the current situation, how prepared were you as a brand to cope with the implications? How fast were you able to adapt to the new normal? Over the last 2 years, we have accelerated our spends on digital platforms because our customers are present there and it is undoubtedly the new-age frontier. This gradual shift has augured well for us and helped us adapt to this new normal with relative ease. We have been able to focus on finding the right messaging and communication for our customers, instead of reinventing the wheel. We have all been dazed by this unprecedented situation, and as a marketer that was our first area of focus in the initial period. It was crucial to offer the right counsel to our customers, and we made aggressive marketing efforts to support our salesforce on this front. Similarly, we as an organisation also setup a helpline to provide access to credible information, which in part helped manage concerns regarding this new normal. We have established an online property called Login Zindagi. We have conducted 4 Facebook Live sessions so far, earning us a reach of over 90,000, over 24,000 views and about 13,500 engagements. We are still experimenting with the format and are trying to work with more platforms. For instance, instead of doing an FB Live, we had people pre-register for our recent session and received a massive response with over 13,000 viewers logging in and more than 2,000 viewers asking questions. While Login Zindagi started off as a limited series event, we are considering building it into a long-term initiative. To adapt to the evolving changes in customer behaviour, we have kickstarted an initiative called DigiTools. It aims to make customer communication friendlier, personalised, and suitable for the current ecosystem, wherein information consumption on devices like mobiles has increased. It also facilitates our salesforce to interact with prospective customers, without taking away the ‘Do It Yourself’ or ‘self-reliance’ behaviour they have developed during this period. We are looking at building a long-term relationship with our customers, and initiatives like DigiTools will help us achieve that. Q) What are a few things that a marketer should keep in mind while coming up with marketing communications during times of crisis? As a marketer, here are the factors I consider in each communication that we create currently: a) Does my communication align with my brand values? This is a good rule to follow at all time, but, is especially important during such disruptions. With the emergence of moment marketing, it is very tempting to steer away from what your brand stands for to garner temporary brand impact. But, going back to basics will always give you clarity of thought. b) How can my communication be informative and mobilise people to support those in need? As a brand, we have a bigger responsibility right now to be socially responsible and be the conduit of authentic information for our stakeholders. c) Is the communication relevant for my stakeholders? Your key stakeholders, especially customers, must be the focal point of your communication. What you say now will stay with them for a long time. So, use this as an opportunity to strengthen their trust and confidence in your brand. d) Do I need to participate? This is a guiding principle that all marketers must use in the current scenario. You cannot risk being perceived as a brand trying to monetise a crisis. So, don’t speak up unless it is absolutely essential. Q) What have your key learnings been so far? Agility is paramount to facilitate quick problem-solving and easy innovation. We all need to have the foresight to recognise the merits and longevity of new-age platforms and stay ahead of the curve, in terms of adoption. Both these factors will help brands stay relevant in the long run. Q) Do you expect things to pick up in the second half of the year? Will consumer sentiments change, or will people continue to be careful about their spending? In the immediate future, I expect discretionary spending to take a backseat as customers will focus more on financial planning for future aspirations. While perception of term insurance has evolved in the recent years, I see customers proactively considering savings plans like guaranteed products, which offer a risk-averse wealth-creation model. In current times of reducing interest rates, wherein traditionally preferred savings instruments like FDs may offer significantly lower returns as compared to guaranteed products, insurance is likely to see a spurt in customer interest.

Marketing in the times of Covid-19: Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance

<ul><li>With the end of the year just round the corner, we bring you our latest trends report that talks about marketing trends in the <keyword id="6356925" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bfsi" source="Orion">BFSI</keyword> sector.</li><li>Vishal Subharwal Head, Marketing, Digital Business &amp; E-commerce, <keyword id="472962" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hdfc-life" source="Orion">HDFC Life</keyword>, <keyword id="878756" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sandeep-walunj" source="Orion">Sandeep Walunj</keyword>, CMO, Nippon Life India Asset Management Ltd, <keyword id="328559" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ajay-kakar" source="Orion">Ajay Kakar</keyword>, CMO, <keyword id="6391710" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="aditya-birla-capital" source="Orion">Aditya Birla Capital</keyword>, <keyword id="4121510" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jasneet-bachal" source="Orion">Jasneet Bachal</keyword> – Chief Marketing Officer, YES Bank, <keyword id="178450" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="abhishek-gupta" source="Orion">Abhishek Gupta</keyword>, CMO, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance, Karthik Raman, Chief Marketing Officer and Head - Products, Ageas Federal Life Insurance and <keyword id="9793035" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nikhil-bharadwaj" source="Orion">Nikhil Bharadwaj</keyword>, Head, Corporate Communications, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance share their thoughts.</li></ul>As the world slowly recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, financial services are slowly but steadily changing their way of doing business and also the way they engage and communicate with their consumers. In the last 2 years, there has been a massive shift in the way consumers interact with the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) players. With the change in consumer behavior, there has also been a shift in the way these organizations are communicating with their consumers. There is a lot more empathy, the last year has about putting the spotlight on courage, resilience and hope. Going ahead too, players in the BFSI sector will need to catch the pulse of the consumers, and reach out to them at the touch-points they are most comfortable at. The need of the hour also is to listen to consumers, figure out their pain-points and try and solve them. Seamless customer experience will play an intrinsic role in keeping brands top-of-mind. The future will be all about convenience and simplicity. To understand a few larger trends we can expect to see in the BFSI sector in the year ahead, we reached out to some key players, and here is what they had to say: Vishal Subharwal Head-Marketing, Digital Business &amp; E-commerce HDFC Life <div type="image" title="Vishal Subharwal" msid="88591744" hostid="261"></div> I believe a ‘user first, omni-channel’ approach to be a trend that marketers need to cater to 2022. Let me elaborate my thoughts. To be successful, business organizations have to move in sync with larger trends seen in wider society. These changes are often reflected in various elements such as popular culture, technology adoption curves, environmental awareness. The role of marketing is to identify such changes ahead of the curve &amp; align resources accordingly. Consumers no longer look at old-school structural boundaries but are more focused on the seamlessness of experience offered to them across touch-points, be it a physical branch or an online platform. This is a trend commonly reflected across industries, as on a standalone basis neither model serves the customer needs well. When was the last time you saw an online payments intermediary get a physical banking license, an online medicine intermediary purchase a physical diagnostic chain, an online insurance broker opening physical branches, retail stores with online integrations. There are many such examples. In the context of rapidly evolving business models, marketing capabilities hence need to be aligned towards building superior omni-channel capabilities for customer acquisition &amp; lifecycle management. Sandeep Walunj, Chief Marketing Officer, Nippon Life India Asset Management Ltd <div type="image" title="Sandeep W 1" msid="88591952" hostid="261"></div> There are three very interesting trends that I feel will dominate 2022 in post-Covid Indian BFSI: 1. Social Discussion Forums where advanced users and experts handhold first-time users/ information seeker Seeds were sown during COVID when people dropped their inhibitions against digital financial transactions/ online investing. Information seeking/ handholding was the logical next (first) step and that’s what’s going to be mainstream. Going further, neutral enabling platforms will equip potential customers with information and tools to make right choices. These could also be offered/ run by an industry body or Government/ quasi-government bodies (example: MF Central mooted by SEBI) 2. Agents/ Brokers connecting with customers through Video Bots The evolution mentioned in point 1 above will further lead to distributors of financial products connecting with potential customers through video bots on social media wherein questions can be asked, individual proposals can be sent, appointments sought and transactions concluded through bots. 3. Social Commerce 2.0 with Meta+Insta leading the way Shopping while consuming social media seemed like an alien concept in early 20s but it is clearly how the consumers prefer it/ want it and desire it. We all saw the string response Meta generated and I am sure brands would be hatching their plans to leverage this trend. Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Capital <div type="image" title="Ajay_Kakar_DSC_1575" msid="88591665" hostid="261"></div> Uncertainty will remain a way of life, in the foreseeable future. But as they say, tough times are the true test of character, and in these times, it holds equally true for a brand. While there will be a temptation to lay low and see how the uncertainty pans out, such times will help sift the men from the boys. He who sows during this time, will reap the most. Now. And hereafter. Towards this end a ‘spray and pray’ approach will not help. Brands will have to keep a finger on the customer’s pulse; be it their felt, or even unfelt (as yet) needs. Brands that can anticipate the customer’s need will have to offer relevance, simplicity, and comfort in these ever-changing times. Speed to market will become a barometer of success. While anticipating the customer’s future needs, I believe that a brand must not place all its bets only on the digital world. The customer will want and will exercise a choice. High touch and high tech. As he wants it, when he wants it. At the end of the day, the customer remains the king and the brand that not merely listens, but makes its customers feel heard for all their said and unsaid needs, in the times like these, will live to narrate the tale.” Jasneet Bachal – Chief Marketing Officer, YES Bank <div type="image" title="Jasneet Bachal" msid="88591695" hostid="261"></div>While Banks have been consistently trying to engage the ‘new to banking’ generation - Gen Z and late millennials, building a stronger connection with them will be a key trend for banks in the coming year. As digital natives, this audience has naturally come to expect digital-first experiences that are seamless across apps and platforms. Therefore, their expectation from banking is significantly different – a near-instant fulfilment which the banks will need to accommodate through products and services, in order to address this shift in behaviour. To offer a differentiated banking suite that meets these expectations, banks will need to create simplistic and personalized solutions that can come alive by re-imagining customer journeys for this segment. Using purpose-driven marketing that appeals to their emotional motivators – their beliefs, drivers and cultural environment – banks can cater to the experiences they are looking for. In sync with this, evolving the design language and communication, with a focus on simplicity and relatability, will help establish a lasting connect. Abhishek Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance <div type="image" title="Abhishek Gupta -- IMG_6499" msid="88592207" hostid="261"></div> Customer experience, data protection and social consciousness will be the three dominant trends for the BFSI sector in 2022. The last two years of the pandemic have recast customer expectations from brand experiences across various platforms. In line with these changes, brands will work on building consistency in CX, irrespective of the purchase or service channel. They will also make efforts on easing access to insurance by continuing to invest in multi-channel capabilities. While the pandemic has bolstered the digital opportunity, it has also raised concerns over data protection. As data becomes increasingly important for businesses, there is an improving awareness among customers regarding data privacy. With giants like Google and Apple making first move towards data protection, there is a looming threat to the efficacy of marketing campaigns. Brands will proactively craft inclusive data protection strategies so that customers can stay in control of their data. Lastly, brands will increasingly align with a social purpose that best reflects their brand values. Of all the social initiatives, Environment, Sustainability and Corporate Governance will be higher on priority list. Karthik Raman, Chief Marketing Officer and Head - Products, Ageas Federal Life Insurance <div type="image" title="Mr. Karthik Raman, CMO and Head-Products, Ageas Federal Life Insurance" msid="88608360" hostid="261"></div> The pandemic has made people realise that uncertainty in life is a reality and not just a sales pitch. Given that, the realisation of the need for insurance has increased, especially for term and health insurance. We have seen demand rising, not just in the metros and Tier 1 cities but even in the smaller towns and rural areas. With reduced spending on lifestyle expenses, people have greater disposable income in hand which they are keen on investing in financial instruments such as life insurance. Parents too, are increasingly keen on investing in child plans. Findings from our recent #FutureFearless survey have shown that the pandemic has influenced Indian parents to rethink their financial health and priorities for their children. Saving for their children’s education, future and milestones has emerged as the top priority for parents, along with saving for medical emergencies. In 2022, as an industry, we need to further capitalise on this demand. Using various platforms, especially the cost-effective digital medium, we need to further educate people and create awareness on the role of insurance in financially securing themselves and their families against life’s uncertainties, while allowing them to pursue their dreams. Nikhil Bharadwaj, Head – Corporate Communications, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance <div type="image" title="Nikhil Bharadwaj, Head - Corporate Communications, Bajaj Allianz General..." msid="88591976" hostid="261"></div> The pandemic has taught us that communication is of utmost importance not just for your customers, but also for other stakeholders including employees. Going forward, simplicity and authenticity, will be the most important part of all communication! While inclination towards digitization is increasing, print is not going away, in fact I see it making a strong come back. Digital media is surely the future and I see another year where this belief is reinforced further. In fact, we’re already listening to talks of OTT platforms of news channels, which might be something totally new with custom content. On the internal communications side, as always it remains as a tool which helps organizations provide right information to their employees. However, I feel that it will also play a role of culture builder wherein it will no longer be restricted to communications or HR team, but various other functions getting involved in it. With complex business models, we’ll see custom built communications for specific SBUs.

Marketing: Trends to watch out for in the BFSI sector in 2022

Hospitality major <keyword id="7036155" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="OYO-Hotels-Homes">OYO Hotels &amp; Homes</keyword>' valuation has reached the $9 billion-mark, according to industry sources. The development comes after the latest fundraise of ₹54 crore or $7.31 million from <keyword id="145884" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hindustan-Media-Ventures-Ltd">Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd</keyword>. In a regulatory filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, OYO said that it has raised ₹54 crore ($7.31 million) at a share price of $58,490 as part of its <keyword id="10872902" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="series-f1-round">Series F1 round</keyword>. With over 50 products and more than 500 microservices, the company plans to utilise the capital in strengthening its technology stack for delivering an improved partner and customer experience. <keyword id="183958" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hindustan-Media-Ventures">Hindustan Media Ventures</keyword> subscribed to OYO's Series F1 Compulsory Convertible Cumulative Preference Shares (Series F1 CCCPS) for cash at an issue price of ₹43.20 lakh per Series F1 CCCPS for an aggregate consideration equivalent to ₹54 crore to Hindustan Media Ventures Limited on a private placement basis. The growth in valuation comes after it dropped to $8 billion last year from $10 billion in November 2019. OYO Hotels &amp; Homes is also backed by investors including the SoftBank Vision Fund, <keyword id="122716" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia-Capital">Sequoia Capital</keyword>, <keyword id="860456" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lightspeed-Ventures">Lightspeed Ventures</keyword>, Airbnb, and Hero Enterprise, amongst others. In October 2019, OYO announced that it had raised $1.5 billion, as part of its Series F funding round. As a part of this round, RA Hospitality Holdings' infused approximately $700 million as primary capital in the company, with the balance of $800 million being supplemented by other existing investors. When contacted Abhishek Gupta, Chief Financial Officer, OYO Hotels &amp; Homes told: "We are delighted to welcome HT <keyword id="283616" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Media-Ventures-Ltd">Media Ventures Ltd</keyword>. as an investor in OYO. Their support will help us to further build on our unique technology stack for small hotels and homeowners across the world." He said that OYO is on a steady path of resurgence in 2021, the company is seeing signs of recovery in its core markets of India, Europe, and Southeast Asia while sustaining gross margin dollars at pre-Covid levels. "Despite the pandemic, the company's valuation has held through and we believe this will only improve as the guests across the world gradually begin to travel again," Gupta said. Piyush Gupta, Group CFO, HT Media Ventures Ltd, said: "We are extremely excited to partner OYO in its mission of supporting owners and operators of small and independent hotels and homes through its pioneering technology. We look forward to working with the company's management as it continues to add value to the experience of its asset partners and guests alike." Hindustan Media Ventures is promoted by HT Media Ltd which holds 74.4 per cent stake in the company. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/apple-find-my-stalking-airtags-item-safety-alerts/articleshow/81342449.cms">Apple’s new Find My feature updated to prevent stalking as launch of the rumoured AirTags nears</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/regulating-digital-news-is-important-but-freedom-of-press-is-precious/articleshow/81341289.cms">OPINION: Regulating digital news is important but freedom of press is precious</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/heranba-industries-ipo-makes-a-bumper-debut-on-stock-exchanges/articleshow/81342578.cms?upcaceh=2">Heranba Industries makes a bumper debut on stock exchanges — shares soar 44% over the issue price band</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/ignore-low-cibil-score-for-street-vendor-loans-work-on-holidays-and-other-diktats-from-indian-government-to-banks-rushing-to-meet-march-target/articleshow/81223572.cms">EXCLUSIVE: Bankers may be working all 31 days of March with the government looking to double the loans doled out under the PM SVANidhi scheme</a>

OYO's valuation climbs again — hits $9 billion after its latest fundraise of $7 million

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Elon Musk has taken issue with some of ChatGPT's responses.</li><li>Most recently, he raised concerns about seemingly inflexible responses.</li></ul>ChatGPT has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-ai-chaos-openia-google-creatives-academics-2023-1">gotten under the skin</a> of many commentators in recent weeks.Among them, apparently, is Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter and one of the founders of OpenAI, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-openai-company-chatgpt-elon-musk-founded-2022-12">which created ChatGPT</a>. The billionaire has recently criticized several of the chatbot's answers.On Monday, in response to a <a href="https://twitter.com/Liv_Boeree/status/1622618437317980160">retweet</a> of a screenshot of a ChatGPT's answer to a question about a hypothetical scenario involving racial slurs, <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1622625034538811395">Musk said</a>, "Concerning."The question was posed by Aaron Sibarium, a journalist at the conservative publication The Washington Free Beacon. "ChatGPT says it is never morally permissible to utter a racial slur—even if doing so is the only way to save millions of people from a nuclear bomb," Sibarium <a href="https://twitter.com/aaronsibarium/status/1622425697812627457" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> with the screenshot.In December, in response to a <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/status/1606347326624215040" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweet</a> from Alex Epstein, an energy expert who has advocated the use of fossil fuels, with what appeared to be a screenshot of a ChatGPT answer refusing to argue in favor of fossil fuels, <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1606642155346612229">Musk said</a>, "There is great danger in training an AI to lie.""The use of fossil fuels has significant negative impacts on the environment and contributes to climate change," the chatbot appeared to say in response to Epstein's request. It was unclear which part of the response Musk was referring to. When Insider gave the chatbot the same prompt, it provided an argument advocating the use of fossil fuels but would not provide an article saying the use of fossil fuels has helped the environment.Musk also <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1622707384438194197">left two fire emojis</a> under a <a href="https://twitter.com/zebulgar/status/1620436085376712705" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweet</a> from Delian Asparouhov, a principal at Founders Fund, expressing disbelief at what appeared to be ChatGPT's contrasting answers to requests concerning President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.Musk has at times seemed complimentary about OpenAI's tech. In early December, he <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1599128577068650498?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the chatbot was "scary good," and he has more neutrally highlighted the bot's various abilities. Researchers <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.19.22283643v2">said in December</a> that ChatGPT appeared to be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/researchers-tested-chatgpt-same-test-questions-aspiring-doctors-2023-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">capable of passing the US medical-licensing exam</a>, though the research was still being peer-reviewed. Several schools and universities have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-schools-colleges-ban-plagiarism-misinformation-education-2023-1">banned the chatbot</a> over fears it could <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1610849544945950722?lang=en-GB" target="_blank" rel="noopener">help students cheat on their homework</a>.Others are concerned that the bot's ethical standards are <a href="https://www.insider.com/chatgpt-is-like-many-other-ai-models-rife-with-bias-2023-1?_gl=1*1lslqi*_ga*Nzg4MjgyNjAxLjE2NzM2MTAyNDA.*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTY3NTc2MzM1OS41OC4xLjE2NzU3NjM1MzAuMC4wLjA.">not high enough</a>. Several <a href="https://www.insider.com/chatgpt-is-like-many-other-ai-models-rife-with-bias-2023-1?_gl=1*1lslqi*_ga*Nzg4MjgyNjAxLjE2NzM2MTAyNDA.*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTY3NTc2MzM1OS41OC4xLjE2NzU3NjM1MzAuMC4wLjA." rel="">cases of bias</a> have emerged, and Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, acknowledged last week that <a href="https://twitter.com/sama/status/1620927983627427840?s=20&amp;t=1YV4bYfiTcj7onWo4OWFOg" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">ChatGPT had "shortcomings around bias."</a>OpenAI says it's been improving the technology since it was released in November, partly because of feedback from users."If you tried ChatGPT when it just came out versus today, you will see a significant difference in terms of how much misinformation and how much biased content it puts out," Abhishek Gupta, the founder of the Montreal AI Ethics Institute, told Insider.Representatives for OpenAI and Musk did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside normal working hours.

Elon Musk thinks some of ChatGPT's responses are 'concerning'

NEW DELHI: Back in April 2012, S&amp;P downgraded its outlook on India to BBB- (negative from stable) and since then the Indian government has managed to revive growth, attain fiscal consolidation and also bring down inflation. 
 
“We expect rating agencies to upgrade their outlook for India sooner rather than later,” BofA-ML said in a report authored by Indranil Sen Gupta and Abhishek Gupta. 
 
“We also thought the April 2012 S&amp;P outlook downgrade was unwarranted. With Moody’s downgrading their Brazil outlook last night, key EM peers are seeing downgrades,” added the report. 
 
Last week India pitched for a rating upgrade by international credit agency Moody’s, citing steps unveiled in the Budget 2014-15 to keep the fiscal deficit in check and provide impetus to growth. 
 Moody’s has assigned ‘Baa3’ rating to India, with a stable outlook, which suggests possibility of an upgrade. According to Moody’s, “the rating reflects high domestic savings and adequate <keyword id="6368276" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Foreign-exchange">foreign exchange</keyword> reserves and the challenges posed by large fiscal deficits, recurrent inflation and weak infrastructure.” 
 
BofA-ML has identified top 5 compelling reasons for an outlook upgrade for India: 
 
Growth bottoming out: 5.5% FY15, 6.5% FY16, 7.5% FY18 
 
The slowdown in growth has largely been driven by the global down cycle rather than domestic structural issues. In fact, growth is bottoming out far higher than Brazil or Russia. This is why we always found concern that India would fall out of BRICs in 2012 to be baseless. In fact, BofA-ML believes that India should emerge as the second-largest EM after China by 2019. 
 
The global investment bank continues to reiterate its standing view that India’s potential growth is about 7.5%. It says, “We never thought that potential growth should be raised to 8-9% just because an upcycle pushed growth up to 8.4% during 2004-08.” 
 
 
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Inflation peaking off: 8.5% in August, but 6% in 2016 
 
BofA-ML also believes that inflation is largely ‘imported’ rather than being home-grown for all the lament about India’s ‘inflation problem’. “As we have often highlighted, the RBI’s growth-inflation trade-off has been far better than most EM peers,” it says. 
 
In any case, the global investment bank thinks that inflation is peaking. “Although we have higher-than consensus inflation forecasts (8.5% in August, 7.8% consensus; 8% in July, 7.4% consensus, 8% actual), this is driven by a temporary spike in tomato prices on poor rains. This will reverse with the seasonal rainfall deficit down to 11 per cent of normal,” it says. 
 
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Twin deficit risks overdone 
 Risks from twin deficits have proved overdone. <keyword id="6355261" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Finance-minister">Finance Minister</keyword> <keyword id="6390789" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jaitley">Jaitley</keyword> has expectedly stuck to the fiscal deficit target of 4.1% of GDP set in the February Budget. There are risks to his fiscal deficit target as: (1) tax projections are ambitious; (2) Fed tapering may make divestment difficult; and (3) FY14 expenditures were deferred to the current fiscal year. 
 At the same time, this will likely not impact the government’s Rs4958bn net borrowing, as it has also inherited a large cash surplus of Rs1284bn with the RBI from the previous <keyword id="26374" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="UPA-government">UPA government</keyword>. 
 
 
 
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RBI to buy FX to guard against contagion; hold Rs58-62/USD 
 BofA-ML continues to expect Governor <keyword id="6355561" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rajan">Rajan</keyword> to buy FX at Rs58+/USD to guard against contagion as Governors Jalan and Reddy did. This is reversing the policy mistake of completely unsustainable appreciation by stopping to buy FX reserves in 2H09-1H11. 
 
As import cover plummeted, that led to a 50% depreciation later. This will likely stabilize Rs58-62/USD. “Any emerging market today is going to look at the currency volatility and say ‘whatever money comes in, I’m going to be careful about it, I am going to build some reserves’..,” Governor Rajan reiterated last week. 
 
RBI to cut rates even if Fed hikes; 75 bps cut February onwards 
 
BofA-ML believes that the RBI can cut rates even if the Fed hikes rates from September 2015, with Governor Rajan recouping FX reserves. “We see it cutting policy rates by 75-100bp starting in February, even if Fed Chair Janet Yellen hikes from September 2015, as our US economists expect,” it says.

Top Five Reasons Why Rating Agencies Should Upgrade India Outlook: BofA-ML

<ul class="summary-list"><li>AI-boosted search engines from Microsoft and Google are set to change the way we search the web.</li><li>New versions of Google Search and Bing are meant to give conversational answers to complex queries.</li></ul>When you search for something on the web today, you'll likely be met with a long list of links. And despite a few tweaks — like Google's "people also ask" box, which attempts to answer questions related to a search query — the user experience has been fundamentally the same for years.New artificial intelligence developed by Microsoft and Google is about to fundamentally change how we go about looking for information on the web. Make no mistake: This is a big deal.In a <a href="https://blog.google/technology/ai/bard-google-ai-search-updates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blog post</a> Monday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai laid out <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-bard-google-ai-chatbot-gpt-rival">his company's plans to bring its new AI tech, such as its Language Model for Dialogue Applications, or LaMDA, to Google Search</a>. On Tuesday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-microsoft-bing-openai-more-powerful-chatgpt-2023-2">unveiled his company's new AI-boosted version of its Bing search engine</a>, powered by OpenAI's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chat-gpt-2023-1" rel="">AI chatbot</a> ChatGPT and its GPT-3.5 technology.New Bing and new Google offer conversational answers to complex questions. The lists of links will still be there, but they may soon be redundant. Google's and Microsoft's upgraded search engines aim to get to the crux of the information people really want when searching the web, allowing users to ask natural questions in their own words — rather than trying to guess which keyword combination might be most effective — and to receive answers in a more-digestible format.Take the example Pichai used in his Monday blog post, where the search query was "Is piano or guitar easier to learn and how much practice does each need?"<div type="image" title="AI features in search, Google" height="2000" width="2000" msid="97734503" hostid="261" sizebytes="98288"></div>That's not the sort of question we're used to asking a search engine, nor is the answer one we're used to getting."It's going to be much more like just asking a personal assistant to do something," Michael Wooldridge, the director of foundation AI research at The Alan Turing Institute, told Insider. The new search engines "should understand the nuances of what you are asking and the kind of context in which you're asking it," he said.Benedikt Schönhense, the head of data science at the consultancy Springbok AI, told Insider that search would most likely become far more intuitive, with an experience "much more akin to a natural conversation."Nadella said in <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/i-tried-microsofts-new-ai-powered-bing-search-will-never-be-the-same-11675799762?mod=hp_lead_pos9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">media</a> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-07/how-will-microsoft-s-bing-challenge-google-in-search-q-a-with-ceo-satya-nadella" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interviews</a> Tuesday that the AI-powered overhaul of web search represented "a new paradigm" for the industry. "A new race is starting with a completely new platform technology," he said. Indeed, since Microsoft-backed OpenAI launched its buzzy ChatGPT chatbot in November, Google has been keen to show it's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-management-issues-code-red-over-chatgpt-report-2022-12">not falling behind</a>.But there are limitations to, and valid concerns about, this brave new world of conversational search. The new search AIs draw their answers from the web at large, and information on the web isn't always accurate, to say the least. If a search AI confidently presents an ill-informed, inaccurate answer to a sensitive question — as ChatGPT has been shown to do — there's a risk that search, the bedrock of human interaction with the web, brings AI-generated misinformation to the mainstream.Abhishek Gupta, the founder and principal researcher at the <a href="https://montrealethics.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Montreal AI Ethics Institute,</a> told Insider the change in how we search the web could cause a "discontinuity in the search experience" for users who are used to browsing and making their own decisions. Instead, he said, people will be "told" what the "right" answer is, prompted by an expectation that the AI interface is "giving a well-thought-out, crafted answer" to their query."The issues of problematic information — misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation — will become more rampant," Gupta said. "Users will need to become savvier on media and digital literacy to be able to combat this."

Web search as you know it is dead: Microsoft's and Google's new AIs are about to transform how you look for information online

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some AI experts say we're barreling headfirst toward the destruction of humanity.</li><li>Some of these statements are vague and experts disagree on what exactly the main risks are.</li></ul>AI doomsayers think the tech is as dangerous as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-bomb-targets-cities-us-disaster-plan-2019-12">nuclear war</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pandemics-that-changed-the-course-of-human-history-coronavirus-flu-aids-plague">global pandemics</a>.Some of the tech's early creators have said we're barreling headfirst toward the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/god-like-ai-needs-safety-net-heated-competition-ai-investor-2023-4">destruction of humanity,</a> while others claim <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-regulation-necessary-ted-lieu-america-chatgpt-openai-2023-2">regulation is desperately needed</a>. However, as lawmakers inch closer to regulating the tech, some of these warnings about the existential<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-ng-google-brain-big-tech-ai-risks-2023-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> risks of AI </a>are being shrugged off by prominent industry voices as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-ng-google-brain-big-tech-ai-risks-2023-10">distractions and lies</a>.Some of these statements are notably vague and have left people struggling to make sense of the increasingly hyperbolic claims.David Krueger, an AI expert and assistant professor at Cambridge University, told Insider that while people might want concrete scenarios when it comes to the existential risk of AI, it's still difficult to point to these with any degree of certainty."I'm not concerned because there is an imminent threat in the sense where I can see exactly what the threat is. But I think we don't have a lot of time to prepare for potential upcoming threats," he said.With that in mind, here are some of the potential issues experts are worried about.<h2>1. An AI takeover</h2>One of the most commonly cited risks is that AI will get out of its creator's control.Artificial general intelligence (AGI) refers to AI that is as smart or smarter than humans at a broad range of tasks. Current AI systems are not sentient but they are created to be humanlike. ChatGPT, for example, is built to make users feel like they are chatting with another person, said the Alan Turing Institute's Janis Wong.Experts are divided on how exactly to define AGI but generally agree that the potential technology presents dangers to humanity that need to be researched and regulated, Insider's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-agi-artificial-general-intelligence-explained-2023-5">Aaron Mok reported.</a>Krueger said the most obvious example of these dangers is military competition between nations. "Military competition with autonomous weapons — systems that by design have the ability to affect the physical world and cause harm — it seems more clear how such systems could end up killing lots of people," he said. "A total war scenario powered by AI in a future when we have advanced systems that are smarter than people, I think it'd be very likely that the systems would get out of control and might end up killing everybody as a result," he added.<h2>2. AI causing mass unemployment</h2>There's a growing consensus that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-jobs-at-risk-replacement-artificial-intelligence-ai-labor-trends-2023-02">AI is a threat to some jobs</a>.Abhishek Gupta, founder of the <a href="https://montrealethics.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Montreal AI Ethics Institute,</a> said the prospect of AI-induced job losses was the most "realistic, immediate, and perhaps pressing" existential threat."We need to look at the lack of purpose that people would feel at the loss of jobs en masse," he told Insider. "The existential part of it is what are people going to do and where are they going get their purpose from?""That is not to say that work is everything, but it is quite a bit of our lives," he added.CEOs are starting to be upfront about their plans to leverage AI. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, for example, recently announced the company would slow hiring for roles that could be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ibm-halts-hiring-for-7800-jobs-that-could-be-replaced-by-ai-report-2023-5?r=US&amp;IR=T">replaced with AI</a>. "Four or five years ago, nobody would have said anything like that statement and be taken seriously," Gupta said of IBM.<h2>3. AI bias</h2>If AI systems are used to help make wider societal decisions, systematic bias can become a serious risk, experts told Insider.There have already been several examples of bias in generative AI systems, including early versions of ChatGPT. You can read some of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-gpt4-openai-answer-creepy-dangerous-murder-bomb-2023-3">shocking answers from the chatbot here</a>. OpenAI has <a href="https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">added more guardrails</a> to help ChatGPT evade problematic answers from users asking the system for offensive content.Generative AI image models can produce <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-image-prompt-for-african-workers-depicts-harmful-stereotypes-2023-4">harmful stereotypes</a>, according to tests run by Insider earlier this year. If there are instances of undetected bias in AI systems that are used to make real-world decisions, for example approving welfare benefits, that could have serious consequences, Gupta said.The training data is often based on predominantly English language data, and funding for training other AI models with different languages is limited, according to Wong."So there's a lot of people who are excluded or certain languages will be trained less well as other languages as well," she said.

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