The National Institute of Standards and Technology today announced it’s launching a new initiative called NIST GenAI aimed at assessing generative artificial intelligence models and create systems that can identify AI=created text, images and videos. The launch of the new program came as NIST revealed its first draft publications on AI risks and standards.
Source: NIST announces new initiative to create systems that can detect AI-generated content – SiliconANGLE
Earlier this month, US publishing body the NMPA lobbed some brickbats at Spotify over its new music and audiobooks bundle, which (under the current US royalty rates agreement) would generate lower mechanical royalties for publishers. Now another body, the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) has backed the NMPA’s stance.
Source: Indie publishing body AIMP criticises Spotify bundle strategy
On Monday, IATSE and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers will shift the focus of negotiations to wages, residuals, working conditions and the use of artificial intelligence in production. Those are the thornier issues to hammer out for the union that represents the vast majority of below-the-line workers in TV and film.
Source: IATSE Contract Talks Shift to Toughest Issues: Wages, AI and Residuals
As music IP owners continue to clash with AI behemoths over what constitutes fair use, Soundtrack Loops’ latest expansion — specifically with its OneStop Audio Library for AI training — aims to remove copyright conflict from the picture entirely. The company believes that in the face of rampant litigation and raging copyright wars, its latest release is simply the right path for both developers and rights holders.
Source: Soundtrack Loops Expands From General Use to AI Licensing
California politicians are advancing a bill that would force Google and Meta — which owns Facebook and Instagram — to pay news publishers each time they display pieces of their articles or show links to them in search results or on social media. The companies are lobbying furiously to block it, saying the law would enact a “link tax” and upend the free flow of information online.
Source: California wants Big Tech to pay for news. Google is fighting back.
En masse, the music industry seems to have decided that NFTs were a terrible idea best swept under the carpet and forgotten. And in fairness, many of the industry’s initial experiments with NFTs deserve exactly that fate. However, with the hype having ebbed away the musicians who are still exploring how NFTs and related web3 technologies might be able to serve their art and their fan communities.
Source: Sound of Fractures wants tokens to ‘re-imagine our relationship with music’
While the big AI companies are delving into legal gray areas trying to find new sources of data for their Large Language Models, the situation for website operators and publishers is much more black and white. Traffic to websites is drying up — and a full-on drought could be about to hit, as search engines morph into generative AI chatbots.
Source: SEO Implications of Search Engines Morphing Into AI Chatbots
There’s a problem with leading artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude: We don’t really know how smart they are. That’s because, unlike companies that make cars or drugs or baby formula, A.I. companies aren’t required to submit their products for testing before releasing them to the public. There’s no Good Housekeeping seal for A.I. chatbots.
Source: A.I. Has a Measurement Problem
We ought to heed the warning that technology evolves in uncertain ways. However, there is one class of AI risk that is generally knowable in advance. These are risks stemming from misalignment between a company’s economic incentives to profit from its proprietary AI model in a particular way and society’s interests in how the AI model should be monetised and deployed.
Source: To understand the risks posed by AI, follow the money
Though it still requires ratification by SAG-AFTRA members, the deal is a significant development for recording artists as it establishes safeguards for what the union calls “ethical and responsible treatment” in the use of artificial intelligence technology. The deal requires “clear and conspicuous consent” for the use of an artist’s voice in AI-generated content, along with minimum compensation levels, and details of the intended use of the AI replica.
Source: SAG-AFTRA strikes new deal with major labels on sound recordings, including protections for AI use