How do you feel about AI?
What if you never have to hear about it?
How do you feel about artificial intelligence? Before you answer, let me tell you what I heard when I got up crazy early on a Sunday morning in January to hear the CEO of Walmart’s U.S. business give a talk in New York City.
On the one hand, if a CEO isn’t talking about tariffs right now, the odds are pretty good they’re talking about artificial intelligence.
But, Walmart is the biggest U.S. employer and a trendsetter among American and worldwide businesses. On top of that, it’s a U.S. company with among the most programmers, coders, and AI experts anywhere.
So, the fact that U.S. CEO John Furner shared the stage for his opening and welcome talk at the National Retail Federation’s annual Big Show conference with Azita Martin, a vice president and general manager at Nvidia, one of the top suppliers of AI hardware and software, made an impression.
Bottom line: Business is bullish on AI. But customers and workers are still leery.
A Pew Research Center survey in February found that even as tech giants are investing billions in trying to use AI to transform how people work, fully 81 percent of American workers said they never use it. Another survey last year showed only 13 percent of Americans believe AI does more harm than good – although that’s a bit of an improvement over previous years.
Yet another survey, in March, suggests 40 percent of Americans believe AI will do more harm than good, compared to 30 percent who think it will do more good than harm – although that’s a bit of an improvement over previous years, and the concern drops quickly as people use it more.
OK. Fast-forward a few months after Furner’s talk, and Walmart just announced a powerful generative AI tool that it’s using to make the jobs of its 1,000 or so “merchants” – the people who are responsible for sourcing basically everything Walmart sells in stores and online – a bit more manageable.
They call the tool Wally, which is kind of cute. According to Walmart, it helps merchants to do four things, according to the company’s description:
Data entry and analysis: Instantly generating insights from complex datasets.
Root cause identification: Diagnosing why certain products are under- or overperforming.
How-to support: Answering operational questions and raising tickets for unresolved issues.
Advanced calculations: Automating complex formulas and predictions.
Walmart continues:
And because usability matters, Wally is designed to be intuitive, requiring no technical training. Merchants can simply ask questions and receive actionable insights in seconds.
With AI removing the friction of manual reporting, our merchants can focus on what they do best: delivering the right products to customers, at the right time, and with greater efficiency than ever before.
While I haven’t actually seen Wally in action, I’m fairly excited about the idea. It really comes down to two factors:
First, for the function. It seems designed to help employees help customers have a better experience.
Second, it’s 100 percent behind the scenes. It’s a product that customers will never actually see.
That seems like the sweet spot right now. Building AI tools that help customers have a better experience, without having to tell them: “Hey look, we’re replacing an experience you’ve come to know and enjoy with AI!”
It’s likely to evolve, and fairly quickly. Every new feature that rolls out on consumer level AI interfaces, like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude.ai, for example, seems to prompt another level of intrigue and comfort.
But at this moment, the behind-the-scenes tools, and certainly not those flaunting how it can be used to replace humans, strike me as the right tone.
Heck, if it legitimately makes it easier for customers to find the things they want at big retailers, they might actually like it.
Maybe even love it—without ever even knowing about it.
7 other things worth knowing today
Is President Trump seriously considering a third term? White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday laughed off the notion: "Trump trolling," she told reporters, but added: "Although the [Trump 2028] hats are flying off the shelves." (Business Insider)
UPS says it will cut 20,000 jobs during 2025, citing "new or increased tariffs" and "changes in general economic conditions." Also: President Trump called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on Tuesday to complain about a report that Amazon was considering displaying U.S. tariff costs on its product listings; within hours, Amazon announced the idea had been scrapped. (USA Today, CNBC)
In more than 230 U.S. cities, $1 million is only enough for a starter home, according to a new report -- a huge jump from five years ago, when just 85 cities had million-dollar starter homes. Nationally, the typical starter home is still relatively affordable at $192,514, but Zillow’s findings underscore just how dramatically prices have surged in many areas since the pandemic. (The Hill)
U.S. Navy sailors leapt for their lives when a $60 million F/A-18 Super Hornet jet fighter fell overboard from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, as it reportedly made evasive maneuvers to avoid Houthi militant fire in the Red Sea. The incident was the second F/A-18 operating off the Truman to be lost in six months, after one was mistakenly shot down by the USS Gettysburg late last year. (The Guardian)
A “Gulf of America”-style saga is unfolding in the U.S. culinary world: Texas is moving closer to officially renaming the New York strip. There’s a Texas bill up for debate next week that would direct the state’s Department of Agriculture to call the cut a “Texas strip.” At the moment it appears the new law would request but not require that privately owned Texas restaurants and even grocery stores reflect the amended name on menus and labels. (Eater)
After 53 years, a failed Soviet Venus spacecraft is crashing back to Earth. If this sounds familiar, it's because like me you were obsessed with the TV Show The Six Million Dollar Man in the 1970s; it turns out this exact spaceship (which didn't have enough power to reach Venus and got stuck in Earth orbit) inspired the plot of a 2-part episode in 1977. (Gizmodo, IMDB)
The Americans fled Vietnam 50 years ago. I visited the buildings they left behind. (The New York Times)
Thasks for reading. Photo by Unsplash. I wrote about some of this before at Inc.com. See you in the comments.
I guess if I don't know about it, it would be okay. Most AI I have encountered, both voice and visual, have sounded/looked fakey, so I know it isn't real. As far as using it personally, we have it all backwards. I can do writing and artwork just fine, I need AI to do my laundry, dishes and vacuuming!
I'll tell you how I feel about AI- I HATE IT. I work in art and I had to witness the rudest behavior I've ever encountered in the past three years- from telling me that this is not "a real job" to the constant proof that what I do it's not automated. I am frustrated every time I had to experience lack of proper behavior as well to other artists that these machines literally STEAL and people are ok with it, because "if its free online, it's fair game." Funny how Disney is able to protect their artwork, but god forbid a person dedicated their whole lives to art don't. So no, I'm not a fan.