April, 2023

Writers, Seeking Pay Change for the Streaming Era, Prepare to Strike

Writers Guild of America leaders have called this an “existential” moment, contending that compensation has stagnated despite the proliferation of content in the streaming era. “Writers at every level and in every genre, whether it’s features or TV, we’re all being devalued and financially taken advantage of by the studios,” said Danny Tolli, a writer whose credits include Roswell, New Mexico and the Shondaland show The Catch.

Source: Writers, Seeking Pay Change for the Streaming Era, Prepare to Strike

Will a Chatbot Write the Next ‘Succession’?

To the mix of computer programmers, marketing copywriters, travel advisers, lawyers and comic illustrators suddenly alarmed by the rising prowess of generative A.I., one can now add screenwriters. “It is not out of the realm of possibility that before 2026, which is the next time we will negotiate with these companies, they might just go, ‘you know what, we’re good,’” said Mike Schur, the creator of The Good Place and co-creator of Parks and Recreation. “We don’t need you.”

Source: Will a Chatbot Write the Next ‘Succession’?

Google Loses Bid to Escape DOJ’s Digital-Ad Antitrust Case

Google lost an early bid to escape a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit that seeks to break up the company’s business brokering digital advertising across much of the internet. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema denied Google’s request to dismiss the case, finding that the Justice Department’s complaint filed in January was sufficiently detailed to proceed. Judge Brinkema’s decision wasn’t a final ruling on the merits of the case, which is still in its early stages, and Google is expected to make additional efforts to end the case ahead of trial.

Source: Google Loses Bid to Escape DOJ’s Digital-Ad Antitrust Case

‘Grave Concerns’ Aired Over EU’s New SEP Regulation and AI Copyright Legislation

On April 27, a pair of legal measures were advanced within the European Union that promise to greatly impact the state of technological commercialization within Europe for both standardized and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Multiple commentators have pointed out issues that could slow the rate of technological commercialization to the detriment of Europeans across the continent.

Source: New SEP Regulatory Framework and AI Copyright Legislation Advance in the European Union

Chatbots Are Digesting the Internet. The Internet Wants to Get Paid.

In a way that hasn’t been true since the early search-engine battles, the contents of the web are the subject of a contest over who owns what, as great powers attempt to carve up an irreplaceably rich source of information with a whole new kind of value. The tech and media companies that unwittingly provided this data are waking up to how essential it is to training the latest generation of language-based AIs.

Source: Chatbots Are Digesting the Internet. The Internet Wants to Get Paid.

From AI Worries to API Wars

EXTRA Universal Music Group chairman & CEO Lucian Grainge has had it up to here with generative AI.

 “The recent explosive development in generative AI will, if left unchecked, both increase the flood of unwanted content hosted on platforms, and create rights issues with respect to existing copyright law, in the U.S. and other countries, as well as laws governing trademark, name and likeness, voice impersonation, and right of publicity,” he said on UMG’s otherwise upbeat Q1 earnings call this week.

A Photographer Tried to Get His Photos Removed from an AI Dataset. He Got an Invoice Instead.

A German stock photographer tried to get his photos removed from the AI-training LAION dataset. Lawyers replied that he owes $979 for making an unjustified copyright claim. The photographer, Robert Kneschke, found out in February that his photographs were being used to train AI through a site called Have I Been Trained? The dataset has been used by companies like Stability AI, which supported the dataset’s development, to train AI models that generate images.

Source: A Photographer Tried to Get His Photos Removed from an AI Dataset. He Got an Invoice Instead.

John Legend calls for regulation on AI-generated music

John Legend is calling attention to AI-generated songs saying there needs to be “some regulation” with how it works, and that artists should have control over how their voices are used. “I believe that our voices are our voices, and we should have control on how our voices are used out in the world,” Legend told Time senior correspondent Charlotte Alter who specifically asked about the recent AI-generated track “Heart On My Sleeve.”

Source: John Legend calls for regulation on AI-generated music

Triller to pay Sony Music $4.57m for breached licensing deal

Sony Music’s lawsuit claimed that Triller had missed multiple agreed payments throughout 2022 for licensing the major’s music. In a filing with Manhattan federal court yesterday (April 26), Sony Music’s legal representative asked the court for a final judgment. The filing stated that Triller had “conceded liability” for the missing payments, and had “agreed that as of April 4, 2023, Triller is liable to Sony Music on Sony Music’s breach of contract claim for $4,574,250.”

Source: Triller to pay Sony Music $4.57m as video platform admits liability for breached licensing deal

AI-generated deepfakes are moving fast and policymakers can’t keep up

This week, the Republican National Committee used artificial intelligence to create a 30-second ad imagining what President Joe Biden’s second term might look like. It depicts a string of fictional crises, from a Chinese invasion of Taiwan to the shutdown of the city of San Francisco, illustrated with fake images and news reports. A small disclaimer in the upper left says the video was “Built with AI imagery.”

Source: AI-generated deepfakes are moving fast and policymakers can’t keep up

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