Headlines

AI-cloning of Lara Croft’s voice has ‘Tomb Raider’ fans and actors up in arms

In France, the apparent use of artificial intelligence to clone an actor’s voice for video game character Lara Croft has fans and actors up in arms. “We’ve addressed this issue by removing all AI voiceover content,” Aspyry’s post said. “We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.” Still, the affair has triggered alarms in the voiceover community, with campaigners saying it’s a sobering example of dangers that AI poses to human workers and their jobs.

Source: AI-cloning of Lara Croft’s voice has ‘Tomb Raider’ fans and actors up in arms

Microsoft looks to build AI marketplace for publishers

Microsoft is in talks with select U.S. publishers about a pilot program to help launch a two-sided marketplace that would compensate publishers for their content used by AI products, starting with its Copilot assistant. Microsoft would become the first major tech company to build an AI marketplace for publishers, a milestone in building a sustainable business model for content companies in the AI era.

Source: Microsoft looks to build AI marketplace for publishers

Meta launches super PAC to fight AI regulation as state policies mount

Meta is investing “tens of millions” of dollars into a new super PAC to fight state-level tech policy proposals that could stifle AI advancement, reports Axios. Meta’s pro-AI PAC, called the American Technology Excellence Project, is the company’s latest effort to combat policies it sees as harmful to the development of AI. Last month, Meta launched a California-focused PAC to back tech-friendly candidates in state races.

Source: Meta launches super PAC to fight AI regulation as state policies mount  | TechCrunch

ElevenLabs secures NVIDIA investment, weeks after launching AI music platform 

Unlike Suno and Udio, however, Eleven Music has already inked licensing agreements with prominent rightsholders, including Merlin and a potentially precedent-setting deal with publisher Kobalt. Now, AI unicorn ElevenLabs has secured strategic investment from chipmaker NVIDIA, the world’s most valuable company by market cap, worth around $4.4 trillion as of Tuesday morning (September 23).

Source: ElevenLabs secures NVIDIA investment, weeks after launching AI music platform to challenge Suno

EU Commission rebuffs calls to press pause on AI Act

The European Commission is not considering a so-called “stop the clock”, or a pause, of the implementation phase of the AI Act, a Commission official told EU lawmakers on Monday, despite a growing chorus of recent calls for it to do so. “There is not going to be an overall moratorium on the AI Act. That is not on the table. We are focusing on making the rules work in practice,” Yvo Volman, director for data at the Commission, told a European Parliament committee Monday.

Source: EU Commission rebuffs calls to press pause on AI Act

AI-backed robot painting aims to boost artist income

Montreal-based artist Audrey-Eve Goulet was initially uncertain as she watched an AI-powered robotic arm reproduce one of her works, but said the outcome was “really impressive.” Goulet had agreed to work with Acrylic Robotics, a Montreal-based company that says it aims to help artists earn a living by making high-quality replicas of their work, with their consent.

Source: AI-backed robot painting aims to boost artist income

German media groups file complaint against Google AI Overviews

An alliance of media and digital organizations have filed a complaint with Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) against Google’s AI Overviews. It is the second instance this week of pushback against AI Overviews, following The Hollywood Reporter and Variety publisher Penske Media Corp becoming the first news publisher to sue Google over the product’s negative impact on traffic and revenue.

Source: German media groups file complaint against Google AI Overviews

Inspired by Anthropic’s $1.5B book piracy payout, labels accuse Suno of ‘stream ripping’ 

The major music companies have escalated their copyright infringement lawsuit against AI music generation company Suno, filing an amended complaint that alleges the startup illegally “stream ripped” copyrighted recordings from YouTube to train its AI models. The timing of the new allegations appears directly connected to Anthropic’s recent USD $1.5 billion settlement with authors, who claimed the service obtained pirated books to train its AI models.

Source: Inspired by Anthropic’s $1.5B book piracy payout, record labels accuse Suno of illegally ‘stream ripping’ music from YouTube

Attorneys File Reply to Questions Raised in Anthropic Settlement

In response to the judge’s concerns over the preliminary settlement reached in class action lawsuit charging AI giant Anthropic with copyright infringement, attorneys representing authors have filed materials they hope will clear up any confusion. At the top of Judge Alsup’s list were concerns about how the $1.5 billion settlement would be paid out to authors and publishers as well as whether attorneys for the authors had conducted a vigorous enough campaign to alert all authors about the lawsuit and their options.

Source: Attorneys File Reply to Questions Raised in Anthropic Settlement

Book Industry Divided Over AI Adoption, Finds BISG Survey

Nearly half of book industry professionals are using artificial intelligence tools for work, but 98% report significant concerns about AI implementation, according to new survey data from the Book Industry Study Group released in September. “The overwhelming majority reported multiple pain points with AI, including serious ethical concerns,” Brooke Horn, BISG’s membership and operations manager, said during a webinar presenting the findings.

Source: Book Industry Divided Over AI Adoption, Finds BISG Survey

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