• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, June 9, 2016

Meet Benjamin, an artificial intelligence algorithm that created its first screenplay with help from technologist Ross Goodman and filmmaker Oscar Sharp. The feature film called Sunspring is set in a post-apocalyptic world. The AI has been generating other ideas since.

Along with the screenplay came stage directions designed for Sci-Fi London, an annual film festival that includes the 48-Hour Film Challenge, where contestants are given a set of prompts -- props and lines -- that must appear in a movie (you can watch it here). The AI also wrote the lyrics and the music sound track.

In addition to writing screenplays, AI has become the backbone for search query results and now Web site design, Wix, the DIY Web site building service, launched an "artificial design intelligence" (ADI) service to automate the process of building Web sites, adding to its list of drag-and-drop development tools.

During the next few months, the company plans to gradually introduce the Wix ADI free feature into its subscription plan.

The process requires the individual building the Web site to answer a few questions and provide the platform with cues as to the type of company and category, such as consumer product goods or clothing store.

The platform reaches out onto the Web into public information and pulls in data to determine the best layout and features. It also pulls in relevant photos and determines the types of keywords to describe the services, along with layouts based on the business type and location.

The technology consolidates a decade of user data with the real-time learnings from more than 86 million customers.
Raymond James Analyst Aaron Kessler called the artificial design Web site builder a "revolutionary" product in Web site design space, in a research note published Thursday.

The platform supports 15 languages in 191 countries. More than half of Wix stores are international and represented 190% of revenue in 2015, Kessler wrote.

Kessler also notes that the company's last Super Bowl campaign reached 500 million impressions, and noted search queries for Wix are growing faster than any of its competitors.