AI Has A New Sheriff... And It's Matthew McConaughey?

Matthew McConaughey may not be the governor of Texas, but it now looks like he's the "sheriff" of artificial intelligence.

What Happened: The “Dazed and Confused” actor, who had entertained a run for the Texas governorship in 2021 before withdrawing from the race, became the face of Salesforce Inc CRM earlier this year, serving as a brand ambassador.

His relationship with the San Francisco-based company extends beyond being a representative of it.

McConaughey starred in Salesforce’s commercials, most notably featured in the company’s Super Bowl ad where he made a memorable appearance in a hot-air balloon, donning an astronaut suit.

Off-camera, the actor has been involved in high-level strategy discussions and contributes as a creative advisor, roles for which he’s reportedly being paid upwards of $10 million a year.

While the coupling of an actor and a tech company may seem unusual at first glance, the pair seem to share the same concerns about the currently unchecked development of AI.

A 15-second ad posted on YouTube by Salesforce titled, "AI Sheriff," featured the actor walking through an AI-generated town in the Wild-West era.

"So if AI is the Wild West, who’s the sheriff around here?" McConaughey said before he walked off.

Why It Matters: The campaign, launched alongside Salesforce's #AskMoreOfAI newsletter on LinkedIn, underlined the need for businesses to foster trust and safety with AI tools.

Salesforce’s campaign with McConaughey as the “sheriff” focused on advocating for the responsible and ethical integration of AI technologies. The newsletter addressed key AI-related concerns, such as the skills gap, data privacy and security.

It encouraged a proactive stance in learning about AI, while promoting trust and safety as essential factors for businesses in the “Wild West” of AI.

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