Headlines

OpenAI and Microsoft are funding $10 million in grants for AI-powered journalism

OpenAI and Microsoft are funding projects to bring more AI tools into the newsroom. The duo will give grants of up to $10 million to Chicago Public Media, the Minnesota Star TribuneNewsday (in Long Island, NY), The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Seattle Times. Each of the publications will hire a two-year AI fellow to develop projects for implementing the technology and improving business sustainability.

Source: OpenAI and Microsoft are funding $10 million in grants for AI-powered journalism

Painting by AI robot Ai-Da could bring more than $120,000 at Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s will sell its first work credited to a humanoid robot using artificial intelligence (AI) later this month. A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing (2024) was created by Ai-Da Robot, the artist robot and brainchild of Oxford gallerist Aidan Meller. The painting is estimated by Sotheby’s to sell for between $120,000 and $180,000 on 31 October. Fittingly, Sotheby’s will accept cryptocurrency for the transaction.

Source: Painting by AI robot Ai-Da could bring more than $120,000 at Sotheby’s

AI could transform film visual effects. But first, the technology needs to address copyright debate

Media creatives are now presented with a huge selection of generative AI Tools that offer new ways of creating images, text, voices and music. However, a key issue related to the technology still needs to be addressed: have these AI tools been created ethically?

Source: AI could transform film visual effects. But first, the technology needs to address copyright debate

NBA Teams Fire Back Against Music Publishers’ Lawsuits

As a growing list of companies are finding out – or being reminded – via litigation, social media platforms’ pre-cleared song libraries are generally licensed for personal as opposed to professional use. There’s also another layer of complexity (at least for companies and professionals situated outside the industry) given how quickly usage rules and infringement responses can change on social services.

Source: NBA Teams Fire Back Against Music Publishers’ Lawsuits

Suno, with a $500m valuation, has admitted training its AI on copyrighted music. 

In June, the $500 million company was sued by the major record companies, along with fellow AI firm Udio, for allegedly training their systems using the majors’ recordings without permission – an accusation they pretty much admitted to in court filings in August. The legal headache and negative perception in the record industry don’t seem to have stopped one Grammy-winning artist and producer from working with the company.

Source: Suno, with a $500m valuation, has admitted training its AI on copyrighted music. It just named Timbaland as a strategic advisor.

Penguin Random House books now explicitly say ‘no’ to AI training

Book publisher Penguin Random House is putting its stance on AI training in print. The standard copyright page on both new and reprinted books will now say, “No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems,” according to a report from The Bookseller spotted by Gizmodo.

Source: Penguin Random House books now explicitly say ‘no’ to AI training

Meta Teams With Blumhouse and Filmmakers Like Casey Affleck to Test Movie Gen AI Tool

The tech giant announced Thursday that it has been working with horror studio Blumhouse and select creators as part of a pilot program for Movie Gen, its generative-AI video models. The company said it will continue to expand the program in 2025. Meta earlier this month unveiled Meta Movie Gen, a suite of AI models that can use text inputs to produce realistic-looking videos as well as edit existing videos.

Source: Meta Teams With Blumhouse and Filmmakers Like Casey Affleck to Test Movie Gen AI Tool

UK’s culture secretary talks streaming economy and AI music

The UK’s new culture secretary Lisa Nandy gave a speech at the Beyond the Music conference in Manchester with some hints on its music plans. That included a nod to the debates about streaming. “While it’s made music more freely available, it’s created shockwaves for songwriters, publishers, record labels and streaming platforms,” said Nandy.

Source: UK’s culture secretary talks streaming economy and AI music

AI is supposed to be Hollywood’s next big thing. What’s taking so long?

There are many reasons for the delay. AI is a complicated landscape where regulations and legal questions surrounding the technology are still evolving. Plus, there’s some skepticism over whether audiences would accept films made primarily with AI tools. There are questions over how studio libraries should be valued for AI purposes and concerns about protecting intellectual property.

Source: AI is supposed to be Hollywood’s next big thing. What’s taking so long?

How Damaging Are AI News Summaries to Publishers?

The New York Times has sent generative AI startup Perplexity, backed by Jeff Bezos and YouTube’s ex-chief executive, a cease and desist for copying its articles and using them to create summaries of articles. The publisher says the practice constitutes “egregious and ongoing violations” of its intellectual property rights since the answers are “substitutive of our protected works.”

Source: How Damaging Are AI News Summaries to Publishers?

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