Technology

Midjourney bets it can beat the copyright police

Last week, Midjourney, the AI startup building image generators, made a small, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it change to its terms of service related to the company’s policy around IP disputes. It mainly served to replace jokey language with more lawyerly, doubtless case law–grounded clauses. But the change can also be taken as a sign of Midjourney’s conviction that AI vendors like itself will emerge victorious in the courtroom battles with creators whose works comprise vendors’ training data.

Source: This Week in AI: Midjourney bets it can beat the copyright police | TechCrunch

Europe investigates Big Tech’s use of generative AI 

The European Union launched a probe Thursday into Big Tech’s use of artificial intelligence and its handling of computer-generated deepfakes, ramping up scrutiny of a technology officials fear could disrupt elections. The inquiry is aimed at companies including Meta, Microsoft, Snap, TikTok and X, focusing on how the tech giants plan to manage the risks of generative artificial intelligence as they increasingly roll out consumer-facing AI tools.

Source: Europe investigates Big Tech’s use of generative AI | CNN Business

YouTube adds new AI-generated content labeling tool

Today, YouTube announced a way for creators to self-label when their videos contain AI-generated or synthetic material. The checkbox appears in the uploading and posting process, and creators are required to disclose “altered or synthetic” content that seems realistic. That includes things like making a real person say or do something they didn’t; altering footage of real events and places; or showing a “realistic-looking scene” that didn’t actually happen.

Source: YouTube adds new AI-generated content labeling tool

What will the EU’s proposed act to regulate AI mean for consumers?

The bill matters outside the EU because Brussels is an influential tech regulator, as shown by GDPR’s impact on the management of people’s data. The AI act could do the same. “Many other countries will be watching what happens in the EU following the adoption of the AI act. The EU approach will likely only be copied if it is shown to work,” Couneson added.

Source: What will the EU’s proposed act to regulate AI mean for consumers?

As EU AI Act passes, rightsholders urge ‘meaningful and effective’ enforcement of copyright

The EU law requires developers of “general purpose AI” (GPAI) models to keep track of and disclose what content is used in training. It further states that “any use of copyright protected content requires the authorization of the [rights holder] concerned, unless relevant copyright exceptions and limitations apply.” “Crucially, this appears to apply even if the training was carried out in another more lenient jurisdiction,” said Jonathan Coote, a music and AI lawyer at UK law firm Bray & Krais.

Source: As landmark AI Act passes EU parliament vote, rightsholders urge ‘meaningful and effective’ enforcement of copyright

‘No NFT-Specific Legislation’ Required, US PTO and Copyright Office Study Concludes

A comprehensive 112-page study conducted jointly by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the U.S. Copyright Office has determined that existing intellectual property laws are sufficient to address concerns regarding copyright and trademark infringement related to non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Source: “No NFT-Specific Legislation Required, Current Copyright Laws Sufficient, U.S. Government Study Finds”

TikTok’s parent ByteDance has locked down AI-music patents in the US

Two separate research papers from ByteDance’s Speech, Audio & Music Intelligence (SAMI) team – both published in recent months – highlight the company’s extensive work in the field of music generation. The division is currently hiring for multiple roles  – including an AI Product Operation Manager in San Jose, who will be responsible for “the implementation of audio and music AI technologies in TikTok”.

Source: TikTok’s parent ByteDance has locked down AI-music patents in the US – as its researchers develop a model trained on 257,000 hours of songs

SXSW Audiences Loudly Boo Festival Videos Touting the Virtues of AI

Conversations about the future of artificial intelligence can be found all over SXSW this year — and not all of the festival’s attendees are thrilled with the idea. Specifically, the film and TV fans catching screenings of world premieres including “The Fall Guy” and “Immaculate” made their AI displeasure loud and clear on Tuesday at the Paramount Theatre in Austin.

Source: SXSW Audiences Loudly Boo Festival Videos Touting the Virtues of AI

European Union Passes ‘World First’ AI Legislation 

Sweeping new laws regulating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in Europe, including controls around the use of copyrighted [works], have been approved by the European Parliament, following fierce lobbying from both the tech and music communities. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted in favor of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act by a clear majority of 523 votes for, 46 against and 49 abstentions.

Source: European Union Passes ‘World First’ AI Legislation That Would Safeguard Copyrighted Music

These 5 new Sora videos take GenAI to the next level

There are multiple AI video models and tools on the market at the moment, with Runway already coming up to a year since its public launch and Pika Labs expanding into sound effects and lip synced dialogue in partnership with ElevenLabs. None of them, including the very realistic Stable Video Diffusion clips, seem to come close to what is possible with Sora.

Source: These 5 new Sora videos take GenAI to the next level

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