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Why AI Isn’t Replacing Affiliate Marketing After All
“AI will make affiliate marketing irrelevant.”
Our new research shows the opposite.
Levanta surveyed 1,000 US consumers to understand how AI is influencing the buying journey. The findings reveal a clear pattern: shoppers use AI tools to explore options, but they continue to rely on human-driven content before making a purchase.
Here is what the data shows:
Less than 10% of shoppers click AI-recommended links
Nearly 87% discover products on social platforms or blogs before purchasing on marketplaces
Review sites rank higher in trust than AI assistants
Beginners in AI
Good morning and thank you for joining us again!
Welcome to this daily edition of Beginners in AI, where we explore the latest trends, tools, and news in the world of AI and the tech that surrounds it. Like all editions, this is human curated, and published with the intention of making AI news and technology more accessible to everyone.
THE FRONT PAGE
AI Spending Hits $109 Billion While Trust Drops to 30%. What's Actually Happening?
TLDR: Salesforce executives say trust in large language models has declined, even as the company bets billions on autonomous AI agents that most enterprises can't get to work.
The Story: Salesforce executives told customers this week that trust in LLMs has dropped. This comes despite CEO Marc Benioff's aggressive push for Agentforce, the AI agent platform launched in October at $2 per conversation. The numbers back them up: business buyer openness to AI fell from 82% in 2022 to 73% today, while consumer trust dropped from 65% to 51%, according to Salesforce's own State of the Connected Customer report. More than half of workers now say they can't find trusted AI tools. Edelman's 2024 Trust Barometer found only 30% of people globally embrace AI, while 35% actively reject it. Meanwhile, Salesforce keeps marketing Agentforce 2.0 as autonomous AI that "acts, not just assists."
Its Significance: The numbers tell a strange story. US companies poured $109.1 billion into AI in 2024, which is 12 times more than China spent. Adoption jumped to 78% of organizations. But trust that AI's benefits outweigh its risks fell from 50% to 41% between 2022 and 2024. Companies are buying AI because everyone else is buying it. Employees aren't using it because they don't trust it. Here's the uncomfortable part: AI doesn't have to work well to replace jobs. Companies are cutting costs by replacing workers with mediocre AI that barely functions. A customer service chatbot can fail to improve satisfaction, frustrate customers, and still eliminate three support positions. The CFO calls that a win even when everyone else calls it a failure. Job displacement isn't happening because AI is transforming business. Companies that outsourced jobs overseas are running the same playbook with shinier tools. AI doesn't have to work. It just has to be cheaper than people.
QUICK TAKES
The story: Chinese shoppers are using AI to create fake photos of damaged products to get refunds without returning items. They're making fruit look moldy, showing cracks in coffee mugs, and creating rust on toothbrushes—all with AI image generators. One seller lost money after a buyer claimed six crabs arrived dead, but the legs looked unnaturally stiff in the photos. Some scammers submitted over $1 million in fake refund claims using AI-altered images. Chinese e-commerce platforms like Taobao removed the "refund only" option in response.
Your takeaway: AI image tools have become so easy to use that regular people can now create convincing fake evidence for fraud, forcing online stores to completely change how they handle refunds.
The story: When a power outage knocked out traffic lights across San Francisco on Saturday, Waymo's self-driving cars stopped in the middle of streets and intersections, creating massive traffic jams. About 125,000 homes lost power after a fire at a PG&E substation. Videos showed groups of Waymos stalled at intersections with their hazard lights on while human drivers tried to navigate around them. Waymo said its cars are designed to treat broken traffic lights as four-way stops, but the scale of the outage caused vehicles to remain stationary longer than normal. The company suspended service until Sunday.
Your takeaway: Self-driving cars still struggle when city infrastructure fails in unexpected ways, showing these systems aren't quite ready to handle every real-world emergency.
The story: Professor Tressie McMillan Cottom told a Detroit audience that powerful people are pushing the idea that an AI-dominated future is already decided to make us accept their control. "When people try to sell you on the idea that the future is already settled, it's because it is deeply unsettled," she said. Cottom argues that if we believe AI is inevitable, we'll create that future for them. She pointed to history—chattel slavery was once seen as unchangeable by the wealthy until people refused to accept it. Cottom called her stance "an act of refusal" and believes everyone can learn to resist predetermined futures.
Your takeaway: The narrative that AI will inevitably take over isn't a fact—it's a strategy by those in power, and society can still choose a different path.
The story: Michael Burry, who predicted the 2008 financial crisis, warned that the U.S. will lose the AI race to China because Nvidia's chips consume too much power. China has more than double America's electricity generation capacity and is expanding much faster. Burry says Nvidia has a "death grip" on AI development in the U.S., pushing increasingly power-hungry chips when the U.S. lacks the infrastructure to support them. He argues the U.S. needs to shift from bigger chips to more efficient AI-specific processors (ASICs) or risk "plowing capital into a race it is structurally positioned to lose."
Your takeaway: The AI arms race might be won not by whoever builds the smartest systems, but by whoever can generate enough electricity to power them.
The story: Researchers in Estonia created BMVision, an AI tool that helps doctors find kidney cancer in CT scans much faster. In a study at Tartu University Hospital, six radiologists reviewed 200 scans twice—once with AI help and once without. With the AI, doctors finished their work 30% faster and caught tumors in 99.2% of cases. BMVision received CE certification, making it the first AI kidney cancer detection tool approved in Europe. The system works like a second pair of eyes that never gets tired, helping catch cancers that might be missed during scans done for other reasons.
Your takeaway: AI is proving it can help doctors catch cancer earlier and faster, not by replacing them but by making sure nothing gets overlooked in the hundreds of scans they review every day.
TOOLS ON OUR RADAR
📊 Tableau Public
Free: Create interactive data visualizations and dashboards that make complex information easy to understand and share.🚀 Raycast
Freemium: Launch apps, search files, and run commands with a keyboard-driven launcher that replaces Spotlight on Mac.🧠 Tana
Freemium: Build a flexible knowledge base with AI-powered supertags that organize information the way your brain works.🗂️ Calibre
Free and Open Source: Organize your ebook library, convert between formats, and sync to any e-reader—supports all major formats.
TRENDING
New Benchmarks Keep Changing What 'Good at AI' Even Means – AI companies keep releasing new tests to measure how smart their models are, but the goalposts keep moving so fast that yesterday's breakthrough becomes today's baseline.
Sam Altman Uses AI to Make Himself a Buff Firefighter – OpenAI's CEO promoted his new image generator by creating a calendar-style photo of himself as a shirtless, muscular firefighter with Christmas lights—but the AI got the December calendar dates wrong.
AI Godfather: Focus on Being a 'Beautiful Human Being' – Yoshua Bengio, who helped create modern AI, told his podcast that he'd advise his 4-year-old grandson to "work on the beautiful human being that you can become" because human qualities will matter most as AI takes over keyboard jobs.
This AI Turns Chaos Into Simple Math Rules – Duke University researchers built an AI that can look at incredibly complex systems and reduce thousands of variables into simple equations that scientists can actually understand and use.
Anthropic Opens Up Enterprise AI Tools – Claude's maker released its Agent Skills technology as an open standard that lets AI assistants learn specialized tasks, with Microsoft, Atlassian, and Figma already adopting it.
TRY THIS PROMPT (copy and paste into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini)
Deep Work Batching Planner: Group similar tasks into focused blocks to minimize context switching and maximize flow state
Build me an interactive Deep Work Batching Planner as a React artifact that organizes tasks into strategic batches for maximum productivity.
The console should include these sections:
1. **Task Brain Dump** - Capture everything:
• Quick-add task input with "Add Task" button
• Bulk import (paste task list)
• For each task, capture:
- Task name
- Task type: Deep work, Admin, Communication, Creative, Learning, Meetings
- Energy required: Low, Medium, High
- Context (what tools/mindset needed)
- Estimated duration
- Deadline (if any)
• Total tasks and hours counter
2. **Smart Clustering** - AI grouping:
• "Auto-batch tasks" button
• Groups tasks by:
- Similar context (same tools, same mindset)
- Energy level requirements
- Task type compatibility
- Time estimates
• Visual task clusters (color-coded cards)
• Suggested batch names:
- "Email & Communication Batch"
- "Deep Coding Session"
- "Content Creation Block"
- "Admin & Logistics Hour"
• Manual override to move tasks between batches
3. **Energy Mapping** - Match tasks to your rhythm:
• Your energy profile input:
- Peak hours (when you're sharpest)
- Medium hours (steady state)
- Low hours (tired/distracted)
• OR use quick templates:
- Early Bird (peak 6-10am)
- Mid-day Warrior (peak 10am-2pm)
- Night Owl (peak 8pm-midnight)
• Auto-assign batches to optimal time slots
• High-energy tasks → Peak hours
• Low-energy tasks → Low hours
4. **Weekly Calendar View** - Visual schedule:
• Calendar grid (Mon-Fri, 6am-8pm or custom)
• Color-coded batch blocks:
- Deep work = Dark blue
- Communication = Light blue
- Admin = Gray
- Creative = Purple
- Meetings = Yellow
• Drag and drop batches to different times
• Buffer time between batches (5-15 min)
• "No meeting" blocks to protect focus time
• Recurring batch scheduling
5. **Context Switching Calculator** - See the savings:
• Before/after comparison:
- Old way: Switches per day
- Batched way: Switches per day
- Time saved from reduced switching
• Switching cost: 23 minutes per switch (research-based)
• Weekly productivity gain calculation
• "You're reclaiming X hours per week" message
6. **Batch Optimization Rules** - Smart suggestions:
• Recommended batch lengths:
- Deep work: 90-120 min (ultradian rhythm)
- Admin: 30-45 min
- Email: 20-30 min (2-3x per day max)
- Meetings: Back-to-back where possible
• Warning if batches are too long/short
• Break reminders between sessions
• "Theme days" option (Marketing Monday, Deep Work Tuesday)
7. **Focus Protocol Builder** - For each batch:
• Pre-batch ritual checklist:
- Clear desk/screen
- Close distractions (email, Slack)
- Set timer
- Have materials ready
• During-batch rules:
- No interruptions allowed
- Capture stray thoughts in "parking lot"
- Stay in batch context
• Post-batch review:
- What got done?
- Quality of focus (1-10)
- Adjustments needed
8. **Template Library** - Quick start schedules:
• Pre-built batching templates:
- **Maker Schedule**: Long deep work blocks
- **Manager Schedule**: Meeting batches + admin
- **Hybrid Schedule**: Mix of both
- **Creative Professional**: Creation + client work
- **Student Schedule**: Study batches + breaks
• Customize any template
• Save your own templates
9. **Analytics Dashboard** - Track effectiveness:
• This week vs. last week:
- Deep work hours completed
- Batch adherence rate
- Context switches avoided
- Self-rated productivity
• Best performing batches (by type and time)
• Worst performing (what to adjust)
• Streak counter for consistent batching
Make it look like a modern productivity planner with:
• Calendar blocks as the hero element
• Color-coded task batches (vibrant but professional)
• Drag-and-drop with satisfying animations
• Time block visualization (Gantt-style)
• Clean, organized aesthetic
• Progress indicators and completion checkmarks
• Energy level color gradients (red/yellow/green)
• Card-based task layout
• Modern SaaS productivity tool vibe
• Clear visual hierarchy
When I click "Search Batching Tips" or "Find Focus Research," use web search to find task batching strategies, deep work techniques, context switching research, and productivity frameworks.What this does: Eliminates the productivity drain of constant context switching by intelligently grouping similar tasks into focused batches—matched to your energy levels and protected with focus protocols, so you enter flow state instead of scattered fragmentation.
What this looks like:
WHERE WE STAND (based on today’s stories)
✅ AI Can Now: Make fake photos of damaged items that look real enough to trick online stores into giving refunds
❌ Still Can't: Tell when a traffic light is broken during a big power outage without freezing in the middle of the street
✅ AI Can Now: Find cancer in medical scans and help doctors work 30% faster with 99% accuracy
❌ Still Can't: Be detected reliably—there's no good way to tell if a piece of writing came from AI or a human
✅ AI Can Now: Turn super complicated science problems with thousands of moving parts into simple math equations
❌ Still Can't: Run powerful models without using so much electricity that it might determine which countries win the AI race
FROM THE WEB
RECOMMENDED LISTENING/READING/WATCHING
Robots are blamed for a mass extinction event, so humans hunt them down and destroy them. Years later, a boy robot named Tim-21 wakes up on a mining colony and discovers he might be the key to finding out what actually happened.
Lemire's story is a space opera with real emotional weight. Tim-21 is trying to find the human boy he was built to be a companion for, while different factions want to capture him for their own reasons. Dustin Nguyen's watercolor art is gorgeous—it gives a painted, dreamlike quality to the sci-fi setting. The series asks what makes someone a person and whether robots can have souls. It's beautiful and heartbreaking.
Six resources. One skill you'll use forever
Smart Brevity is the methodology behind Axios — designed to make every message memorable, clear, and impossible to ignore. Our free toolkit includes the checklist, workbooks, and frameworks to start using it today.
Thank you for reading. We’re all beginners in something. With that in mind, your questions and feedback are always welcome and I read every single email!
-James
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