New role-playing gaming platform Hidden Door debuted Wednesday with features that allow users to create their own stories within iconic fictional worlds by engaging with AI-driven models made in partnership with creators, authors and IP rights holders. Within these worlds, there are chances to add in genre-bending plot twists, including vampires and pirates, that affect the rules of the worlds.
New AI-Driven Role-Playing Platform Launches With Plans to Gamify Fan Fiction
Kobalt inks direct licensing deal with Spotify in the US
The agreement marks Spotify’s latest direct deal with a prominent music publisher and moves its agreement with Kobalt beyond the traditional CRB model in the US. This means that Kobalt’s direct deal supersedes the audiobook ‘bundling‘ payment structure that, starting in March last year, saw Spotify dramatically cut the rate of mechanical royalties paid to publishers and songwriters in the US.
Source: Kobalt inks direct licensing deal with Spotify in the US
Meta Acquires WaveForms to Boost AI Audio Capabilities
Meta acquires AI audio startup WaveForms to advance emotional voice synthesis and integrate tech into Superintelligence Labs. WaveForms’ main focus is the ‘Speech Turing Test,’ a challenge to create AI-generated speech that is indistinguishable from human voices. The platform incorporates what it calls ‘emotional general intelligence’—software designed to replicate the emotional nuance of human speech within generated speech.
Source: Meta Acquires WaveForms to Boost AI Audio Capabilities
Japan’s largest newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun, sues Perplexity for copyright violations
The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest newspaper by circulation, has sued the generative AI startup Perplexity for copyright infringement. The lawsuit, filed in Tokyo District Court on August 7, marks the first copyright challenge by a major Japanese news publisher against an AI company. Yomiuri alleges the scraping has been used by Perplexity to reproduce the newspaper’s copyrighted articles in responses to user queries without authorization.
Source: Japan’s largest newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun, sues AI startup Perplexity for copyright violations
Shira Perlmutter USCO Suit Sets Summary Judgement Schedule
The lawsuit filed by ex-Copyright Office head Shira Perlmutter now has a summary judgement schedule, which will run into November. Both sides just recently filed a proposed schedule for that summary judgement sub-dispute, and the presiding judge signed off on the timetable soon thereafter. Taking a step back for a moment, a reinstatement-minded Perlmutter is technically spearheading two cases: A core complaint challenging her USCO dismissal and an appeal.
Source: Shira Perlmutter USCO Suit Sets Summary Judgement Schedule
Google’s AI Nighthawks painting misses the point of art
Google announced Genie 3, a general purpose world model that can generate interactive environments from text prompts. As demonstrated by research scientist Aleksander Holynski, it’s possible to use famous paintings as reference images. That allows the user to ‘step inside’ the painting and adjust the view. The AI generates additional details outside of the composition of the original painting, allowing it to be viewed from other angles.
Source: Google’s AI Nighthawks painting misses the point of art
Spotify Investigating Playlist Bribery Allegations in Turkey
Spotify is facing serious turmoil in Turkey, including allegations of bribery around playlist placement and mounting regulatory pressure. The controversy escalated after several Turkish artists raised complaints, questioning how playlists were created and alleging that unfair visibility was being granted to certain performers in exchange for bribes.
Source: Spotify Investigating Playlist Bribery Allegations in Turkey
SoundExchange slams judge’s ruling in SiriusXM case as ‘entirely wrong on the law’
Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed SoundExchange‘s $150 million lawsuit against SiriusXM, ruling that Congress has never granted the PRO the authority to file lawsuits on behalf of recording artists and record labels. In response, SoundExchange said in a statement, “SoundExchange firmly believes Judge Buchwald’s interpretation is entirely wrong on the law.”
Source: SoundExchange slams judge’s ruling in SiriusXM case as ‘entirely wrong on the law’
Publishing Giants Escalate War on ‘Shadow Libraries’ With Broad Cloudflare Subpoena
Major academic publishers, including Elsevier and Springer Nature, are trying to unmask the operators of several shadow libraries including Anna’s Archive, Z-Library and Libgen. They’re also targeting SLUM, a third-party uptime monitor for these unofficial libraries. A DMCA subpoena, issued by a D.C. federal court, requires Cloudflare to hand over identifying user data for possible legal action.
Source: Publishing Giants Escalate War on ‘Shadow Libraries’ With Broad Cloudflare Subpoena * TorrentFreak
Alan Turing Institute: Humanities are key to the future of AI
A powerhouse team has launched a new initiative called ‘Doing AI Differently,’ which calls for a human-centred approach to future development. For years, we’ve treated AI’s outputs like they’re the results of a giant math problem. But the researchers – from The Alan Turing Institute, the University of Edinburgh, AHRC-UKRI, and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation – behind this project say that’s the wrong way to look at it.
Source: Alan Turing Institute: Humanities are key to the future of AI