ElevenLabs, the software company specializing in AI-generated audio, has launched ElevenReader Publishing, a platform that offers free audiobook production and distribution. Through ElevenReader, rights holders can upload their books as ePub, DOCX, or PDF files, which are then converted to AI-generated audiobooks, for which authors and publishers can choose the voice of the narrator.
Source: ElevenLabs Launches Publishing Platform for AI-Generated Audiobooks
The artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT
has launched its video generation tool in the UK amid a deepening row between the tech sector and creative industries over copyright. Beeban Kidron, the film director and crossbench peer, said the introduction of OpenAI’s Sora in the UK added “another layer of urgency to the copyright debate.”
Source: OpenAI launches Sora video generation tool in UK amid copyright row
Spotify is developing premium-tier AI music creation tools that could transform passive listeners into active creators while generating higher revenue streams. There are some pretty big hurdles, most prominently the question of rights. Are artists and record companies happy with the idea that a million personalized remixes of their treasured IP could suddenly explode into existence? It’s been speculated that this might be why Spotify isn’t yet ready to publicly announce a launch date for the new premium tier service.
Source: Spotify’s Bold AI Gamble Could Disrupt The Entire Music Industry
Creative and media industries have teamed up on this “Make It Fair” initiative, calling for readers to help protect British creative industries. The campaign was created to fight government proposals that would allow artificial intelligence companies to train their models on copyright-protected work without permission.
Source: UK newspapers blanket their covers to protest loss of AI protections
The company, which is an AI startup itself, will be an anchor investor in the fund, but outside limited partners will provide most of the capital, CNBC reported Tuesday (Feb. 25), citing unnamed sources. It was reported in December that the company closed a $500 million funding round earlier that month, with its backers including SoftBank, Nvidia and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Source: Report: Perplexity Creating $50 Million Venture Fund for AI Startups | PYMNTS.com
Universal Music Group Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge, Sony Music Group Chairman Rob Stringer, and Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kynclhave thrown their weight behind a Daily Mail campaign urging the government to protect creators’ rights. “The UK stands at a decisive crossroads because what is ‘Made in Britain’ and exported to the world is not limited to physical products, but also intellectual property and copyright including music, visual art, life sciences and more,” said Grainge.
Source: Major record company bosses back campaign against UK AI copyright proposal
Top executives from Meta Platforms and Alphabet have amped up the heat on the European Union (EU) over its perceived failure to foster innovation in artificial intelligence. In particular, the EU’s AI Act, which tightly controls the type and nature of AI systems allowed in the bloc, was seen as going “too far” by META director of public policy Chris Yiu. “The net result of all of that is that products get delayed or get watered down and European citizens and consumers suffer.”
Hanno Basse discussed his company’s work and the evolution of generative AI in filmmaking during this week’s HPA Tech Retreat, saying, “The ultimate goal is to make more movies.” Basse weighed in on subjects such as data provenance and budgets, and spoke about progress being made in filmmaking, predicting that in “probably two years, we’re going to have very high performing open source foundation models.”
The European Commission will propose at least five sets of legislation this year to spur investment and simplify regulation on companies, including in the field of artificial intelligence, the European Union’s digital chief said on Thursday. The executive Commission is under pressure from EU member countries such as France to ease regulations, and also faces challenges from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.Source: Europe set to simplify corporate regulation, EU’s digital chief says
The EU is withdrawing proposed regulations for handling victim’s claims of harm caused by AI — but it faces internal opposition. The commission’s change of heart was blasted by Axel Voss, a German member of the European Parliament. “Why the sudden U-turn? The answer likely lies in pressure from industry lobbyists who view any liability rules as an existential threat to their business models,” Voss told the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
Source: AI Regulations: EU Withdraws AI Liability Proposal; US Seeks Comments on AI Action Plan | PYMNTS.com