Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, sees the technology as a way to accelerate the work of Hollywood moviemakers and online creators. Like OpenAI, it has started testing the technology with a small group of professionals. Though many believe the technology could speed the work of seasoned moviemakers, it could also replace less experienced digital artists.
Technology
Generative AI & Licensing: A Special Report
To date, more than two dozen content owner deals with AI developers have been publicly confirmed, according to VIP+ research. A diverse range of publisher types are now engaged in licensing, with dealmaking rampant among news publishers, stock image companies and platforms such as Reddit and Stack Overflow. Yet the licensing market for generative AI is coming to fruition in a contentious and uncertain legal environment.
European Commission appoints 13 experts to draft AI Code
The European Commission has today announced the list of independent experts from the EU, US and Canada tasked to lead work on drafting a Code of Practice on General Purpose Artificial Intelligence, which includes language models such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini. The EU’s AI Act, which entered into force last month – provides stringent rules for providers of GPAI models, which will become effective in August 2025.
Source: European Commission appoints 13 experts to draft AI Code
Rethinking Photography in the Age of AI
After Instagram instituted a label on images to clearly identify those that were AI-generated, many photographers stood up in arms, angry that it also included images retouched using AI. “It is not the same,” they say. “Retouching,” they say, “is not generating, and our images should not be classified as such.” Photographers are angry that their images carry this label because it implies their images are fake and untrustworthy.
California Forces a Rethink of A.I. Regulation
The most sweeping effort yet to regulate artificial intelligence, a California bill that could have informed laws around the world, is going back to the drawing board. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the legislation, known as S.B. 1047 — under strong pressure from Silicon Valley giants. Now, governments must again try to figure out the best way to rein in the fast-growing technology’s excesses, while letting innovation flourish.
Major music companies, urging Canada’s CRTC not to regulate streaming as if it were radio
Industry groups representing major record companies and streaming platforms have a message for Canada’s telecom regulator: streaming is not radio, and shouldn’t be regulated as if it were. The groups were responding to the CRTC’s recent series of workshops on implementing new rules governing streaming services. Under those rules, streaming services that are not Canadian-owned are required to pay 5% of revenue into funds that subsidize Canadian content and creators.
Startup Runway Giving Filmmakers up to $1 Million If They Use AI to Make Their Movies
Runway, the generative AI company that recently inked a first-of-its-kind deal with Lionsgate, will dole out grants of up to $1 million to filmmakers working on AI-powered projects. Runway is launching The Hundred Film Fund, an initiative to help produce and fund as many as 100 short films and feature-length movies that use generative AI technology to tell their stories.
OpenAI Is Growing Fast and Burning Through Piles of Money
OpenAI’s monthly revenue hit $300 million in August, up 1,700 percent since the beginning of 2023, and the company expects about $3.7 billion in annual sales this year, according to financial documents reviewed by The New York Times. But it expects to lose roughly $5 billion this year after paying for costs related to running its services and other expenses according to an analysis by a financial professional who has also reviewed the documents.
Source: OpenAI Is Growing Fast and Burning Through Piles of Money
Author of AI-Generated Work Rejected by Copyright Office Says Lack of Protection Has Crushed Him
Jason Allen, the author of the two-dimensional artwork, titled “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial,” which was rejected by the U.S. Copyright Office last year, has filed a request for declaratory judgment asking a district court to find that his work is eligible for copyright registration.
Source: Author of AI-Generated Work Rejected by Copyright Office Says Lack of Protection Has Crushed Him
Hollywood is coming out in force for California’s AI safety bill
Hollywood is squaring off against Silicon Valley in the battle over SB 1047, California’s first-of-its-kind AI safety bill. Amid doubts about whether Governor Gavin Newsom will sign the legislation, a wave of star-studded endorsements mark the first organized celebrity effort to advance AI regulations beyond the direct interests of the entertainment industry.
Source: Hollywood is coming out in force for California’s AI safety bill