Artificial intelligence could make brands obsolete (GOOGL, AMZN, AAPL)

Brands are dead, or they might be in the future. According to Aaron Shapiro, the CEO of the marketing firm Huge, brands will take a backseat as technology like artificial intelligence and machine learning become more prevalent. "As machines start to take more decisions for people it makes it harder for marketers to figure out how to enter into that equation and how to influence consumer behavior," Shapiro told Markets Insider. Artificial intelligence powers technology like Apple's new face-recognition unlock tool and Google's smart assistant. AI is in its infancy, but it already is showing up in users' lives in a big way, which could be a big problem for marketing firms like Shapiro's.