Technology

FTC Stakes Out Regulatory Role Over AI, Warning It May ‘Turbocharge’ Scams 

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission waded deeper into the churning waters around AI on Tuesday, turning the spotlight on comments it submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office that encompass the agency’s concerns that artificial intelligence could accelerate the proliferation of illegal schemes and scams online. The FTC said that while policymakers debate the disruptive potential of AI, the technology is already becoming rooted in the mainstream, requiring fast action.

Source: FTC Stakes Out Regulatory Role Over AI, Warning It May ‘Turbocharge’ Scams – Decrypt

Studios Adjust AI Language in Push to End SAG-AFTRA Strike

Hollywood’s major studios have agreed to adjust language on artificial intelligence as they move closer to a contract agreement to end the 117-day SAG-AFTRA strike. Union negotiators met Monday night with the leaders of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. In the meeting, the two sides appear to have resolved some of the pending issues on AI, which has become the central focus of the talks over the last 10 days.

Source: Studios Adjust AI Language in Push to End SAG-AFTRA Strike

As AI Battle Lines Are Drawn, Studios Align With Big Tech in a Risky Bet

Experts question why studios aren’t siding more with actors and writers and against AI companies to oppose what could constitute the mass pilfering of their closely guarded intellectual property. “Studios should be protecting their copyrights,” a WGA member tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s shortsighted, because it demotes them to another source of content for these AI firms.”

Source: As AI Battle Lines Are Drawn, Studios Align With Big Tech in a Risky Bet

Audius rolls out music marketplace, partners with DistroKid and Beatport

San Francisco-based blockchain-powered music platform Audius has launched a music marketplace in beta, providing a platform for its 6 million users to support artists with direct payments. Audius users will now be able to directly support their favorite artists through credit card payments in USDC. This feature allows artists and rights holders to convert earnings to their preferred currency, including USD, EUR, GBP, or others.

Source: Audius rolls out music marketplace, partners with DistroKid and Beatport

OpenAI promises to defend business customers against copyright claims

OpenAI — bowing to peer pressure — today announced it’ll step in and defend businesses using OpenAI products if they face claims around copyright infringement as it pertains to OpenAI apps and services. As part of a new program, Copyright Shield, OpenAI says that it’ll pay the legal costs incurred by customers who face lawsuits over IP claims against work generated by an OpenAI tool.

Source: OpenAI promises to defend business customers against copyright claims | TechCrunch

Tech Giants Spend Billions on AI Startups—And Get Just as Much Back

Microsoft, Amazon and Google benefit from OpenAI and Anthropic paying for the expensive cloud services needed to run their products. The symbiosis between AI startups and the tech giants is sidelining the venture capitalists who typically back young companies. Those investors rarely spend in the billions and have been more wary of paying the high valuations that come alongside the large deals.

Source: Tech Giants Spend Billions on AI Startups—And Get Just as Much Back

Celebs Like Scarlett Johansson Declare War on AI Deep Fakes—Are They Doomed? 

Though politicians in the United States appear increasingly intent on creating a federal legal framework to regulate AI-generated deep fakes—and courts in countries including India have already come down on the matter, siding against AI deep fake creators—not all other world governments have been similarly aggressive in their efforts to control the novel technology.

Source: Celebs Like Scarlett Johansson Declare War on AI Deep Fakes—Are They Doomed? – Decrypt

MPA Sees “No Need” For New AI Copyright Legislation Or Special Rules

In its filing with the U.S. Copyright Office, the MPA said the studio members’ “overarching view, based on the current state, is that while AI technologies raise a host of novel questions, those questions implicate well-established copyright law doctrines and principles. At present, there is no reason to conclude that these existing doctrines and principles will be inadequate.”

Source: MPA Sees “No Need” For New AI Copyright Legislation Or Special Rules, Warns Of “Inflexible” Guidelines

Writers Union Releases Platform and Principles for Generative AI Policy

The National Writers Union, the U.S. trade union for freelance and contract writers and authors, has identified six core principles and five key policy areas that will guide its organizing efforts around generative artificial intelligence. With the platform, the NWU has also finalized its response to the U.S. Copyright Office’s Notice of Inquiry on AI and copyright, submitted on October 30.

Source: NWU Releases Platform and Principles for Generative AI Policy

News Group Says A.I. Chatbots Heavily Rely on News Content

The News Media Alliance, a trade group that represents more than 2,200 publishers released research on Tuesday that it said showed that developers outweigh articles over generic online content to train the technology, and that chatbots reproduce sections of some articles in their responses. The group argued that the findings show that the A.I. companies violate copyright law.

Source: News Group Says A.I. Chatbots Heavily Rely on News Content

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