One Year Later, Waymo Takes on NYC, Digital Humans Sell More

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Episode #1074: We’re diving into CDK’s post-attack transformation, Waymo’s bold NYC ambitions, and China’s booming AI-driven live commerce, where digital humans are outselling their creators.

Show Notes with links:

• A year after cyberattacks rocked the industry and CDK Global, the focus has shifted from crisis response to long-term resilience — though not all lessons stuck.
  • Two cyberattacks forced CDK’s DMS offline for two weeks, disrupting operations at 15,000 dealerships and costing over $1 billion in sales.
  • Many groups invested heavily in cybersecurity and revised disaster recovery plans as a result, with leaders like Judy Serra and Joe Shaker emphasizing staff training and consultant support as critical steps forward.
  • Helion’s Erik Nachbahr noted some dealers quickly reverted to old habits, citing a recent DMS switch that went live without basic protections like multifactor authentication — a move he called unacceptable.
  • CEO Brian MacDonald says CDK is now “stronger than ever,” with deeper investments in security, R&D, and customer experience, saying “Over the past year, we’ve also seen record customer renewals.”
  • Joe Shaker of Shaker Auto Group and TruVideo said, “It could happen to anyone. My feelings were that after going through what they’ve gone through and after looking at every nook and cranny of their business for security that [CDK] may be the most secure.”

• Waymo is preparing to re-enter New York City to map and test its autonomous vehicles — with human drivers — as it eyes a major expansion into one of the most complex and coveted markets in the U.S.
  • Waymo is returning to NYC for the first time since 2021 to resume mapping and testing, though humans will remain behind the wheel due to state law.
  • The company is lobbying for legal changes and applying for a permit to operate in Manhattan with safety specialists in the driver seat.
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• In a groundbreaking move, Baidu aired a 6-hour shopping livestream led entirely by AI-generated digital humans modeled after popular host Luo Yonghao — and it crushed human-led benchmarks.
  • The broadcast introduced 133 products with AI versions of Luo and a co-host responding to viewer comments in real time.
  • The digital duo generated $7.6 million in sales, outperforming Luo’s real past performance in just 26 minutes.
  • China's live commerce market hit $695 billion in 2023, and Baidu now counts over 100,000 active digital human hosts, with the company saying digital humans can cut broadcast costs by 80% and boost sales by 62%.
  • “To be honest, I was really shocked by the effectiveness of this digital human,” Luo said post-show, calling it “reality.”

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