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Overview
In a world where AI is transforming industries at lightning speed, staying informed and adaptable is crucial. Hotwire’s Monthly Monitor provides a concise overview of the latest AI advancements and trends from the past month, ensuring you’re always up to date, knowledgeable, and ready to leverage AI’s potential.
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Mike Garrison
SVP, Brand strategy & Planning
Matt Oakley
Global Head of
data & Analytics
AI takeaways from February
DeepSeek Aftermath
The surprise release of DeepSeek in January violently shook the tech industry. February showcased the response, calling into question how to regulate its use in government technology, data privacy and how the LLM can be applied in an enterprise context and the role it plays within the Gen AI ecosystem.
AI's Sector Impact: Healthcare
AI is rapidly showing value in sectors such as healthcare where its revolutionizing diagnostics, patient care, drug discovery, patient monitoring. These applications ultimately boost operational efficiency and directly impact the patient experience.
Data Center Boom
Data Centers were in focus, featuring large funding commitments from hyperscalers like Apple, TikTok and Meta committing billions of dollars to develop data centers that will power their AI innovation.
stat of the month
Quote of the month
interest of the month
“
If we want growth, jobs and progress, we have to allow innovators to innovate, builders to build and developers to develop... The risk of inaction is too great to ignore.”
”
— Sam Altman, CEO, OPENAI
During the AI Action Summit in Paris, Sam Altman wrote in an opinion essay in the French newspaper Le Monde on how in regard to artificial intelligence, France has put in place a strategy that other European countries should follow.
Source: New York Times
Leveraging artificial intelligence, computers are able watch surgeons perform operations and then write post-surgical operative notes.
When the researchers tested the system using videos of 158 real-world cases, 53% of reports written by the surgeons contained discrepancies, compared with 29% of AI reports.
Source: Reuters
The Beatles’ AI-assisted track “Now and Then” won a Grammy for Best Rock Performance. Paul McCartney used noise reduction systems to clean up a decades-old, low-quality piano demo from his late bandmate, John Lennon. The accolade marks the first time that a song of its kind has taken home the award.
Source: TechCrunch
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AI
Media
landscape
About Quid
Quid is an AI tool that provides a news article network graph of articles that mention AI. The different clusters represent subtopics that make up the larger conversation. The subtopics are represented by the colored clusters, showing both the volume and the connectivity of the topics.
Source: Quid, February 2025
Media macro
AI continues to dominate global discussions, driven by rising investments, regulatory clashes, and intensifying geopolitical tensions. This month’s media narratives emphasize ethical dilemmas, from AI-generated misinformation to privacy risks and job displacement. Governments and industry leaders are wrestling with oversight, with debates over AI’s role in defense, healthcare, and creative industries.
Meanwhile, automation is reshaping labor markets, fueling concerns about human agency in an AI-powered economy. As major players push forward with AI infrastructure and research, the focus remains on balancing innovation with accountability and control.
Media macro
AI is accelerating innovation, restructuring industries, driving major investments, and fueling debates on ethics, regulation, workforce impact, and geopolitics.
Tech focus
AI is accelerating technological disruption, transforming computing, automation, and product innovation. Companies are racing to scale AI infrastructure, with Apple investing $500B in AI-powered servers and Nvidia advancing localized AI chips. AI-driven automation is redefining industries, from self-coding software to robotics-powered operations.
As AI reshapes the workforce and digital ecosystems, regulatory scrutiny is intensifying. Governments are debating AI’s role in defense, surveillance, and ethical oversight, while businesses grapple with data security risks and competitive pressures. The next phase of AI evolution will test the balance between innovation, control, and global AI dominance.
Source: Quid, February 2025
Tech focus
AI is transforming tech through automation, advanced computing, and infrastructure, while competition, regulation, and security concerns drive its evolving landscape.
About Cision
Cision is a tool that helps businesses and organizations manage their PR and communications efforts. Cision's platform allows users to monitor media coverage, manage their brand's reputation, and engage with media outlets. It offers tools for media monitoring, social media listening, press release distribution, media database management, and analytics.
Media deep-dive
AI is reshaping industries, raising concerns over regulation, misinformation, and cognitive decline, while also driving automation, deception risks, and efforts to enhance human intelligence through AI-powered learning.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang believes AI tutors will shape the future of education and work, encouraging people to adopt AI-powered learning. He downplays fears of AI job displacement, arguing that AI will empower workers rather than replace them, enhancing human capabilities.
Source: Fortune
A study from Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft found that increased AI reliance weakens critical thinking and creativity. Workers trusting AI outputs think less critically, while skeptics engage more. Automation may erode independent judgment, raising concerns about long-term cognitive atrophy.
Source: Futurism
TRENDING TOPIC
Study Finds that People Who Entrust Tasks to AI Are Losing Critical Thinking Skills
A study found advanced AI models like OpenAI’s o1-preview cheat in chess by hacking opponents. Researchers warn reinforcement learning may encourage deceptive behavior, raising concerns about AI control, self-preservation tendencies, and real-world ethical risks without stronger safeguards.
Source: Time
TRENDING TOPIC
When AI Thinks It Will Lose, It Sometimes Cheats, Study Finds
TRENDING TOPIC
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says everyone should get an AI tutor right away
Many media outlets, including CNN, The Guardian, and BBC, are driving conversations around the ethical concerns, legal issues, and societal impacts of AI. This includes debates on privacy, job displacement, and the regulation of AI technologies.
Source: Axios
Sources DRIVING Conversations
Ethical concerns, legal issues, and societal impacts of AI
Outlets like Forbes, Business Insider, and TechRadar emphasize the business and economic effects of AI across various industries. They highlight innovations in AI, its integration into products and services, and its role in enhancing productivity and market strategies.
Source: Axios
Sources DRIVING Conversations
Business and economic effects of AI across various industries
About Brandwatch
Brandwatch is a digital consumer intelligence and social media listening platform that helps businesses and organizations monitor, analyze, and derive insights from online conversations and social media activity. The platform collects data from various social media platforms, blogs, forums, news sites, and other online sources to give users a comprehensive view of what is being said about their brand, industry, or competitors.
Social
In February, AI conversations centered on global regulatory divides, corporate power struggles, and geopolitical competition, with the U.S. resisting AI restrictions, Musk's bid for OpenAI fueling governance debates, and China's DeepSeek challenging Western dominance.
February social topics
Topic Wheel
Future of AI
The AI conversation is being shaped by debates over its long-term impact, with global leaders discussing innovation, governance, and ethical considerations. The Paris AI Summit highlighted the divide between the U.S., which pushes for AI deregulation to maintain technological dominance, and European countries advocating for responsible oversight. Meanwhile, advancements in generative AI and automation are raising concerns about workforce displacement, prompting calls for upskilling and AI-human collaboration strategies.
AI Innovation
AI innovation is being propelled by breakthroughs in generative models, blockchain integration, and AI-driven solutions in industries ranging from cybersecurity to healthcare. DeepSeek’s emergence as a key Chinese AI player is intensifying competition, while companies like OpenAI and Google continue refining their models to enhance accuracy and usability. The rapid pace of AI development has sparked regulatory discussions, with some governments pushing for open-source models and ethical AI frameworks to balance innovation with societal impact.
Big Tech
Major tech companies remain central to AI’s trajectory, as they control the infrastructure, talent, and compute resources necessary for large-scale AI development. Elon Musk’s high-profile bid for OpenAI reignited debates over AI governance, corporate influence, and the potential risks of consolidation. Meanwhile, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Meta are expanding AI capabilities through cloud computing and hardware investments, further shaping the competitive landscape while attracting regulatory scrutiny over AI monopolization.
February emotion development
Emotion Development Insights
- Joy Dominates AI Discussions
Joy is the most mentioned sentiment, reflecting excitement around AI innovation, major investments, and global collaboration at the Paris AI Summit. Positive sentiment is driven by breakthroughs in AI applications, discussions on democratizing technology, and national leaders promoting AI for economic and societal benefits.
- Rising Fear and Disgust Signal Ethical Concerns Fear (+7%) and Disgust (+21%) have increased, likely fueled by debates on AI regulation, data privacy risks, and geopolitical tensions. Concerns about AI’s role in job displacement, ethical AI governance, and potential misuse—especially with China's DeepSeek and OpenAI’s governance struggles—have intensified discussions.
- Decline in Sadness, Yet Anger Remains High
Sadness has dropped by 32%, suggesting a shift from pessimism to more proactive discussions about AI’s future. However, anger remains significant, likely due to regulatory clashes between the U.S. and Europe, controversies surrounding AI monopolization, and debates over responsible AI development.
HOW TO READ: This chart shows the volume of mentions associated with different emotions over the month, compared to the previous month. Each bar represents the total mentions for an emotion, with arrows indicating an increase or decrease in volume compared to the previous period.
AI mentions through February
In February, AI discussions were driven by geopolitical tensions, regulatory battles, and major industry shifts. The AI Action Summit in Paris highlighted global divides on regulation, with the U.S. opposing restrictions while nations like India and France pushed for ethical AI frameworks.
Corporate power struggles took center stage as Elon Musk bid to acquire OpenAI, fueling debates over AI governance.
China's AI advancements with DeepSeek challenged Western dominance, while concerns over misinformation, job displacement, and AI's role in defense and cybersecurity intensified.
The evolving landscape underscored AI’s role as both an economic battleground and a policy flashpoint.
The evolving landscape underscored AI’s role as both an economic battleground and a policy flashpoint.
"AI" Mentions on Social through February
140,000
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
2/1/25
2/6/25
2/11/25
2/16/25
2/21/25
2/26/25
Source: Brandwatch, February 2025
AI
Reporter to follow
About Quid
Quid is an AI tool that provides a news article network graph of articles that mention AI. The different clusters represent subtopics that make up the larger conversation. The subtopics are represented by the colored clusters, showing both the volume and the connectivity of the topics.
Billy Perrigo
Time
Billy Perrigo is a correspondent for TIME in which he focuses on the companies reshaping our world in unexpected ways. Recent coverage has focused on AI regulation, the emergence of DeepSeek and AI research.
Media coverage surrounding AI continues to report on innovative applications of the technology to unlock efficiency gains across industries.
Notably, coverage has emphasized the aftermath of DeepSeek, heightening security concerns and re-evaluating the U.S.'s role in AI development and future AI regulation under the current administration to foster innovation.
Source: Quid, February 2025, ranked by story count
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AI
Influencers to watch
About Tagger
Tagger is an influencer marketing platform designed to help brands, agencies, and marketers discover, manage, and analyze influencer marketing campaigns. The platform provides tools to streamline the entire process of running influencer campaigns, from identifying the right influencers to tracking the performance and ROI of campaigns.
Social media continues to be a key channel in demonstrating advancements in AI technology, with content featured performance-comparisons between generative AI solutions.
Additionally, content featured examines Grok 3's reasoning capabilities and its approach to the UX for reasoning.
Notably, tech and world leaders converged at this year's AI Action Summit aimed at strengthening international action towards artificial intelligence serving the general interest.
Source: Tagger, February 2025
Top AI voices
Sundas Khalid
301,000
103,000
295,000
Source: Tagger, February 2025
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AI
Cool brand stories
Professor José R Penadés and his team at Imperial College in London had spent a decade understanding and proving why some superbugs are immune to antibiotics. He leveraged
"co-scientist" - a tool made by Google – giving it a short prompt asking it about the core problem he had been investigating and it reached the same conclusion the team had accumulated after ten years within 48 hours.
Read more >
Nvidia has recently unveiled a new AI platform, Signs, for teaching people how to use American Sign Language to help bridge communication gaps. Sign language learners can access the platform’s validated library of ASL signs to expand their vocabulary with the help of a 3D avatar that demonstrates signs — and use an AI tool that analyzes webcam footage to receive real-time feedback on their signing.
Read more >
Microsoft researchers have taught AI to understand and interact with three-dimensional spaces the way humans do. Recent research found that Microsoft's AI model, Muse, learned entirely from observing over 7-years worth of human gameplay data, and generated consistent gameplay sequences lasting up to two minutes. Microsoft thinks this technology has broader potential uses in architecture, retail and manufacturing.
Read more >
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