From 1999 to 2002, file-sharing service Napster faced off against a slew of record labels and big-name artists like Metallica, who accused Napster of illegally distributing copyrighted material. Snowballing legal costs and mass resignations led Napster to file for bankruptcy in June 2002. Now, with AI in the equation, the concept of ownership has become convoluted.
Source: AI is Hollywood’s ‘Napster 2001 moment,’ entertainment lawyers warn
Among the concerns the policy document sets out are worries about fewer job opportunities, pay, copyright infringement and lack of regulation. The Guild suggests that although AI is not yet “sophisticated” enough to mimic professional writers, “this is a likely future scenario.” But, the Guild adds, the technology will never be able to match the “originality, authenticity, enthusiasm and humanity” of real writers.
Senators Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced a bill that would be what they call a “first step” in establishing safeguards around AI, the “No Section 230 Immunity for AI Act.” It would clarify that Section 230 immunity – which protects social media platforms and other information platforms from lawsuits – does not apply to claims based on generative AI.
Source: Does Section 230 cover artificial intelligence? Experts are not sure
The computers are taking over. As talks between the actors union and the studios come to down to the final days before the extension of SAG-AFTRA’s current contract expires, artificial intelligence has become a significant obstacle to any deal. “There seems to be no real negotiations here,” a SAG-AFTRA member close to talks tells Deadline.
Over a third (36%) of entertainment workers surveyed in late June were “very” or “somewhat concerned” about the impact gen AI will have on their own jobs. For context, respondent awareness of gen AI is high, with 87% at least aware of tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney, while two-thirds (65%) claim some knowledge of the technology.
Source: Entertainment Industry Has High Anxiety About Generative AI: Survey
OpenAI pointed to instances where a ChatGPT Plus subscriber would ask the chatbot for the full text of a URL, and ChatGPT would respond with the complete text, bypassing paywalls and privacy settings. “As of July 3, 2023, we’ve disabled the Browse with Bing beta feature out of an abundance of caution while we fix this in order to do right by content owners,” OpenAI said.
Source: ChatGPT Users Abused Web Browsing Feature So OpenAI Has Turned It Off – Decrypt
The government is now working with users and rights holders on a code of practice on copyright and AI. The code of practice aims to make licences for data mining more available. It will help to overcome barriers that AI firms and users currently face, and ensure there are protections for rights holders. This ensures that the UK copyright framework promotes and rewards investment in creativity.
Source: The government’s code of practice on copyright and AI
AI music startup Splash’s latest feature is a text-to-music tool under its Splash Pro banner. Visitors to its website are invited to ‘describe the music you want to create’ with an interface similar to other kinds of generative AI tool (from ChatGPT to DALL-E 2 and Stable Diffusion). Prompts generate a series of different samples, which can then be extended to 15-second tracks.
Source: Splash unveils its text-to-music AI-powered creation tool – Music Ally
The latest big technology firm exploring AI music is ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, with an invitation-only app called Ripple. ByteDance says that the free app is designed for musicians and social-media creators alike. The app includes a feature called ‘Melody to Song’ which enables users to sing or hum a melody into their phone. Ripple will then “expand the melody with an instrumental accompaniment in a variety of different genres.”
Source: TikTok parent ByteDance reveals AI-powered music creation app Ripple – Music Ally
On Wednesday, OpenAI and Microsoft were sued in a class action lawsuit seeking $3 billion in damages for allegedly stealing “vast amounts of private information” from internet users without consent in order to train ChatGPT. This lawsuit, which was filed on June 28 in federal court in San Francisco, and includes sixteen anonymous plaintiffs, claimed that OpenAI secretly “scraped 300 billion words from the internet” without registering as a data broker or obtaining consent.
Source: OpenAI and Microsoft Sued for $3 Billion Over Alleged ChatGPT ‘Privacy Violations’