Among the ways Europe plans to bolster regional AI developments are a commitment to build a network of AI factories and “gigafactories” and create specialized labs designed to improve the access of startups to high-quality training data. The bloc will also create a new AI Act Service Desk to help regional firms comply with its landmark AI law.
Source: Europe unveils plan to become ‘AI continent’ with simpler rules, more infrastructure
Lyria, Google’s text-to-music model, is now available in preview for select customers, and the company’s Veo 2 video creation model has been enhanced with new editing and visual effects customization options. The company has also launched a voice-cloning feature powered by Chirp 3, Google’s audio understanding model, for “allow-listed” users.
Source: Google’s enterprise cloud gets a music-generating AI model | TechCrunch
The European Commission is finalizing a plan to make its artificial intelligence rules more palatable to companies, as they scramble to adapt to American tariffs that have sent shockwaves through the global economy. The EU executive will launch a new “AI Continent” plan on Wednesday. According to an undated draft of the plan, the executive wants to “streamline” rules and get rid of “obstacles” that it feels are slowing companies in Europe down in competing with the U.S. and China.
Source: Europe prepares AI charm offensive as industry trembles from tariff shocks
Source: Opinion – AI companies are commiting mass theft and hiding behind the language of ‘training’
Creating and sharing deceptive media made with artificial intelligence is now a crime in New Jersey and open to lawsuits under a new state law. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation Wednesday making the creation and dissemination of so-called deceptive deepfake media a crime punishable by up to five years in prison, and establishing a basis for lawsuits against perpetrators.
Source: Creating and sharing deceptive AI-generated media is now a crime in New Jersey
OpenAI has published its response to the government’s consultation on the plans, and it calls for “a broad text and data mining exception” minus the opt-out aspect. Why? OpenAI cites the way the European Union’s AI legislation works, criticising it for having “created uncertainty about what opt-out methods are workable and valid, causing uncertainty for both AI companies and rightsholders”.
Source: OpenAI and Google don’t like UK’s ‘opt out’ AI training plans either
The Future of Cinema Summit at the NAB Show opened Saturday morning with speakers who agreed that AI can make production faster and cheaper, but it can’t do everything. Meanwhile, the issue of jobs remained murky. “This is the age of the generalist,” suggested Eric Shamlin, CEO of AI-driven production studio Secret Level and co-chair of the TV Academy’s AI Task Force, during the SMPTE-produced summit.
Source: NAB Speakers Debate AI’s Impact On Jobs And Artists: ‘This is The Age of The Generalist’
Shutterstock reported full-year 2024 revenues of $935.3 million (up 7%), partly driven by the acquisition of Envato and $104 million in AI content licensing revenue—a figure projected to rise to $250 million by 2027. Meanwhile, Getty Images’ Creative revenue declined by 4.5% in 2024 despite overall corporate growth. This decline in core stock licensing, offset by growth in editorial and AI-related services, suggests an internal shift rather than expansion.
Source: The Silent Collapse: Generative AI’s Erosion of Photo Licensing Revenue – Kaptur
The era of Google’s dominance in search and advertising hasn’t been one in which the news sector has thrived. In fact, it has coincided with a calamitous collapse in revenues and a dramatic contraction of the industry overall. What they’re worth to us has been, overall, less than zero. The news industry has gone backwards. Yet news businesses still can’t conceive of managing without them.
Source: Perhaps Google is really worth nothing to the news industry
Runway, a startup best known for its suite of generative AI media tools, has raised $308 million in a new funding round. “Today marks an important milestone as Runway announces a significant next step towards our goal of creating a new media ecosystem with world simulators,” the company wrote in the press release. “[Our recent] advancements aren’t merely incremental improvements; they form the foundation for an entirely new approach to media.
Source: Runway, best known for its video-generating AI models, raises $308M | TechCrunch