he biggest record labels in music are trying to figure out how to grapple with the rise of artificial intelligence. When Universal Music Group (UMG) pulled its songs from TikTok on Feb. 1 partly because of a concern artists weren’t being protected from artificial intelligence, it triggered a debate across the industry about whether to embrace the new technology, fight it, or both.
Technology
AI ‘dream girls’ are coming for porn stars’ jobs
Since the first AVN “expo,” in 1998, adult entertainment has been overtaken by two business models: Pornhub, a free site supported by ads, and OnlyFans, a subscription platform where individual actors control their businesses and their fate. Now, a new shift is on the horizon: artificial intelligence models that spin up photorealistic images and videos that put viewers in the director’s chair.
Tyler Perry halts $800m studio expansion after being shocked by AI
The US film and TV mogul said he was in the process of adding 12 sound stages to his studio but has halted those plans indefinitely after he saw demonstrations of Sora and its “shocking” capabilities. “All of that is currently and indefinitely on hold because of Sora and what I’m seeing,” Perry said. “I had gotten word over the last year or so that this was coming, but I had no idea until I saw recently the demonstrations of what it’s able to do. It’s shocking to me.”
Source: Tyler Perry halts $800m studio expansion after being shocked by AI
OpenAI’s Video-Generating AI Is “Doomed to Failure,” Says Meta’s Top AI Scientist
Sora, OpenAI’s new AI model for generating video, has become the talk of the town since its release last week. But Yann LeCun, chief AI scientist at Meta, doesn’t think the much-hyped text-to-video model is all that. In particular, LeCun takes issue with OpenAI’s claims that its work with Sora will eventually enable the building of “general purpose simulators of the physical world.” If that’s the case, LeCun argues
Source: OpenAI’s Video-Generating AI Is “Doomed to Failure,” Says Meta’s Top AI Scientist
AI Firms Face Broad Liability Under FTC Deepfake Proposal
The Federal Trade Commission is considering whether the makers of tools that let people generate video, audio, and image impersonations should be held liable when digital dupes lead to fraud. Lawyers are pushing back on the FTC’s recommended approach, arguing it hits too broadly and could stop innocent uses of the technology as well as bad ones.
Source: AI Firms Face Broad Liability Under FTC Deepfake Proposal (1)
When Artificial Intelligence Makes Black Music, Who Really Wins?
AI tech is being used to appropriate and profit off of major Black artists in music (like Drake, The Weeknd & Beyoncé) leaving many to wonder if this is where the industry’s future is headed and if Black creators will even have a place in it. That fear harkens back to the 1950s and 1960s when the music of Black artists like Little Richard, Big Mama Thornton, Chuck Berry, and The Supremes was stolen, whitewashed, and popularized by white acts like Elvis Presley, Phil Collins, The Beach Boys, and Pat Boone.
Source: When Artificial Intelligence Makes Black Music, Who Really Wins?
How to Think About Remedies in the Generative AI Copyright Cases
Virtually all complaints ask for awards of actual damages and disgorgement of profits attributable to infringement, prejudgment interest, attorney fees, and costs. In these respects, the complaints are quite ordinary. But three types of remedy claims merit special attention: claims for awards of statutory damages; court orders to destroy models trained on infringing works; and most bizarrely, court orders to establish a regulatory regime to oversee generative AI system operations.
Source: How to Think About Remedies in the Generative AI Copyright Cases
US House forms AI task force as legislative push stalls
Leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives said Tuesday they are forming a bipartisan task force to explore potential legislation to address concerns around artificial intelligence. Efforts in Congress to pass legislation addressing AI have stalled despite numerous high-level forums and legislative proposals over the past year.Source: US House forms AI task force as legislative push stalls
Some video game actors letting AI clone voices. They just don’t want to be replaced
As video game worlds get more expansive, some game studios are experimenting with AI tools to give voice to a potentially unlimited number of characters and conversations. It also saves time and money on the “vocal scratch” recordings game developers use as placeholders to test scenes and scripts. The response from professional actors has been mixed. Some fear that AI voices could replace all but the most famous human actors if big studios have their way.
Source: Some video game actors letting AI clone voices. They just don’t want to be replaced
Inside the Funding Frenzy at Anthropic, One of A.I.’s Hottest Start-Ups
All told, the A.I. start-up hauled in $7.3 billion in a year. Its five funding deals stood out not just for their speed and size, but for their unusual structures. In one of those deals, Anthropic agreed to use technology such as chips and cloud computing services from the companies that invested in it. That meant, in effect, that some of the money it raised would be pumped back into its investors.
Source: Inside the Funding Frenzy at Anthropic, One of A.I.’s Hottest Start-Ups