Headlines

Some video game actors letting AI clone voices. They just don’t want to be replaced

As video game worlds get more expansive, some game studios are experimenting with AI tools to give voice to a potentially unlimited number of characters and conversations. It also saves time and money on the “vocal scratch” recordings game developers use as placeholders to test scenes and scripts. The response from professional actors has been mixed. Some fear that AI voices could replace all but the most famous human actors if big studios have their way.

Source: Some video game actors letting AI clone voices. They just don’t want to be replaced

Inside the Funding Frenzy at Anthropic, One of A.I.’s Hottest Start-Ups

All told, the A.I. start-up hauled in $7.3 billion in a year. Its five funding deals stood out not just for their speed and size, but for their unusual structures. In one of those deals, Anthropic agreed to use technology such as chips and cloud computing services from the companies that invested in it. That meant, in effect, that some of the money it raised would be pumped back into its investors.

Source: Inside the Funding Frenzy at Anthropic, One of A.I.’s Hottest Start-Ups

OpenAI Completes Deal That Values the Company at $80 Billion

OpenAI has completed a deal that values the San Francisco artificial intelligence company at $80 billion or more, nearly tripling its valuation in less than 10 months. The deal is another example of the Silicon Valley deal-making machine pumping money into a handful of companies that specialize in generative A.I. — technology that can generate text, sounds and images on its own.

Source: OpenAI Completes Deal That Values the Company at $80 Billion

FTC Proposes New Protections to Combat AI Impersonation of Individuals

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking that would prohibit the impersonation of individuals. The proposed rule changes would extend protections of the new rule on government and business impersonation that is being finalized by the Commission today.

Source: FTC Proposes New Protections to Combat AI Impersonation of Individuals

Anthropic trained its AI to rip off copyrighted lyrics, music publishers allege 

The copyright battle between music publishers and AI developer Anthropic has taken a dramatic turn, with the music publishers alleging that Anthropic intentionally trained its Claude AI chatbot to rip off copyrighted lyrics. “Anthropic’s own training data betrays its understanding that its AI models would be used to search for and provide copyrighted lyrics,” lawyers for Universal Music Group, Concord Music Group and ABKCO stated in a submission filed with a US District Court in Nashville,

Source: Anthropic trained its AI to rip off copyrighted lyrics, music publishers allege in escalating court battle

Stability AI tries to stay ahead of the pack with a new image-generating AI model

Stable Cascade can generate photos and give variations of the exact image it created, or try to increase an existing picture’s resolution. Other text-to-image editing features include inpainting and outpainting, where the model will fill edit only a specific part of the image, as well as canny edge, where users can make a new photo just by using the edges of an existing picture.

Source: Stability AI tries to stay ahead of the pack with a new image-generating AI model

OpenAI Unveils A.I. That Instantly Generates Eye-Popping Videos

OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT chatbot and the still-image generator DALL-E, is among the many companies racing to improve this kind of instant video generator, including start-ups like Runway and tech giants like Google and Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram. The technology could speed the work of seasoned moviemakers, while replacing less experienced digital artists entirely.

Source: OpenAI Unveils A.I. That Instantly Generates Eye-Popping Videos

Rod Stewart Sells Song Catalog to Iconic Artists Group for Nearly $100 Million

Legendary rock singer Rod Stewart has sold his song catalog to Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists for nearly $100 million in a deal that comprises interests in his publishing catalog and recorded music, as well as some name and likeness rights. The deal comes as Iconic announced that it has raised more than $1 billion in new capital for future catalog investments, primarily from the investment firm HPS Investment Partners.

Source: Rod Stewart Sells Song Catalog to Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group for Nearly $100 Million

Duetti raises $90 million in new funding to acquire indie artists’ catalogs

In the roughly 18 months since it was founded by Lior Tibon, former COO of Tidal and now Duetti’s CEO, and Christopher Nolte, a former Business Development executive at Apple Music, the company has partnered with more than 250 indie artists, including Olivia O’Brien, Sevyn Streeter and Łaszewo. Now Duetti announced it has raised USD $90 million in new funding, including $15 million in new equity and a $75 million credit facility.

Source: Duetti raises $90 million in new funding to acquire indie artists’ catalogs

Take the Cash or Fight? Media Moguls Split on AI Deals

Publishers and CEOs across the industry agree AI is an existential threat to the future of journalism, and their businesses have spent the past year wrestling with a conundrum: Ink a deal with the AI players or fight it out in court. Do the CEOs and publishers of these trusted news brands prefer paying journalists’ salaries or attorney fees?

Source: Take the Cash or Fight? Media Moguls Split on AI Deals

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