The Hollywood labor community is up in arms again after the Directors Guild of America (DGA) made a number of retroactive additions to its film & TV contract with the studios. The deal, which was revealed yesterday and gives directors a streaming performance bonus that matches that of the writers, has sown more discontent across town.
Source: Directors Back In The Labor Spotlight As DGA Deal Ruffles Feathers In Hollywood
The legal disputes around the development of AI are serious business. But when thinking of these suits, an old adage comes to mind: this isn’t about justice, this is about the law. And the legal questions swirling around AI in this moment are less about what’s broadly fair and more specifically about fair use—which, to many authors and publishers, is only sometimes fair.
A surge in AI-generated literature is raising concerns among some who believe this trend could undermine the authenticity and value of the reading experience. The debate is intensifying amid increasing worries about the rise of generative AI and its potential impact on jobs, especially those involving creative professionals. There is growing apprehension that AI-created content might eventually replace human-produced materials.
Experts have long warned of a future where artificial intelligence makes it impossible to tell digital fact from fiction. Now that future is here. Scientific American spoke with Hany Farid, a computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies digital forensics and media analysis. Farid has developed tools for deepfake detection that analyze audio, images and videos.
The estate of comedy legend George Carlin has filed a lawsuit against the makers of an hour-long video featuring a version of him made using artificial intelligence, accusing them of stealing “a great American artist’s work.” A voice sounding remarkably like the comedian, who died of heart failure in 2008, appears on a “comedy special” titled “George Carlin: I’m glad I’m dead,” which was uploaded to YouTube earlier this month by the Dudesy channel.
Source: George Carlin’s estate sues over AI-generated stand-up special titled ‘I’m glad I’m dead’
SoundCloud has struck partnerships with three music technology companies to allow artists to directly upload songs created with AI tools to its platform. Those three companies are Fadr, Soundful, and Voice–Swap. SoundCloud said in its announcement on Thursday (January 25) that the move “marks the latest milestone in SoundCloud’s efforts to empower artists on the platform”.
Source: AI-made music can now be easily uploaded to SoundCloud, thanks to a trio of new deals
While some of the major labels are touting YouTube as an important partner in the evolving world of music and AI, not everyone in the music industry has been as enthusiastic about these new efforts. That’s because Google trained its model on a large set of music — including copyrighted major-label recordings — and then went to show it to rights holders, rather than asking permission first.
Source: Google Trained Its AI on Copyrighted Music, Sources Say — Now It’s Trying to Make Deals
U.S. antitrust enforcers are opening an inquiry into the relationships between leading artificial intelligence startups such as ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and Anthropic and the tech giants that have invested billions of dollars into them. The action targets Amazon, Google and Microsoft and their sway over the generative AI boom that’s fueled demand for chatbots such as ChatGPT, and other AI tools that can produce novel imagery and sound.
Source: FTC opens inquiry into Big Tech’s partnerships with leading AI startups
For decades, the Copyright Office has been a small and sleepy office within the Library of Congress. In recent months, however, the office has suddenly found itself in the spotlight. Thousands of artists, musicians and tech executives have written to the agency, and hundreds have asked to speak at listening sessions hosted by the office. The attention stems from a first-of-its-kind review of copyright law that the Copyright Office is conducting in the age of artificial intelligence.
Source: The Sleepy Copyright Office in the Middle of a High-Stakes Clash Over A.I.
A trial underway in California could determine whether a tattoo based on a copyrighted image is a copyright violation. The case has potentially large implications for IP-centered industries such as the music business, which in recent years has increasingly focused on “name and likeness” rights in contracts and acquisitions. The case could also have implications for bodily autonomy and free expression – given that the tattoo in question has been indelibly stamped onto the arm of Blake Farmer, a friend of tatoo artist Kat Von D.
Source: Should photographers and rightsholders get paid when tattoo artists ink pictures of music icons?