CA’s Newsom Issues AI Executive Order After Trump Push Against ‘Cumbersome State AI Laws’

The executive order’s instructed development of “best practice guidance for departments and agencies to appropriately watermark” all “AI-generated or significantly manipulated images or video.” Longer term, making AI watermarks the norm across the board would, of course, be a sweeping step – and a step with multiple considerations beneath the surface. How would doing so affect the growing collection of creations incorporating, but not solely resulting from, generative AI?

Source: CA’s Newsom Issues AI Executive Order After Trump Push Against ‘Cumbersome State AI Laws’

Thousands of people are selling their identities to train AI – but at what cost?

These gig AI trainers – who upload everything from scenes around them to photos, videos and audio of themselves – are at the frontlines of a new global data gold rush. As Silicon Valley’s hunger for high-quality, human-grade data outpaces what can be scraped from the open internet, a thriving industry of data marketplaces has emerged to bridge the gap. From Cape Town to Chicago, thousands of people are now micro-licensing their biometric identities and intimate data to train the next generation of AI.

Source: Thousands of people are selling their identities to train AI – but at what cost?

Publishers Back Concord Music Group’s AI Suit

Four organizations representing various publishers and content creators have filed an amicus brief supporting Concord Music Group in its copyright infringement lawsuit against AI giant Anthropic. According to a joint statement from the leaders of the four organizations involved, “This case illuminates the critical, collaborative licensing markets that are developing among copyright owners and technology companies for consumer-facing AI products, driving better, safer, and fairer outcomes for all involved.”

Source: Publishers Back Concord Music Group’s AI Suit

RIAA, NMPA file amicus brief backing UMG, Concord and ABKCO in original Anthropic case

The coalition, which also includes A2IM, SoundExchange, SONA, BMAC, the Music Artists Coalition, and the Artist Rights Alliance, filed an amicus brief on Monday (March 30) urging a federal court to reject Anthropic’s fair use defense in the case brought by Universal Music Publishing Group, Concord Music Group, and ABKCO in October 2023. Its core argument is twofold: that AI-generated music already acts as a direct market substitute for human-created works, and that a functioning licensing market for AI training already exists.

Source: RIAA, NMPA file amicus brief backing UMG, Concord and ABKCO in original Anthropic case

Did the Supreme Court Just Hand Elon Musk a Giant Victory Over Music Publishers?

The Supreme Court justices ruled that ISPs and related platforms cannot be held liable for users’ copyright violations unless the service is specifically tailored for infringement or very actively encourages law-breaking piracy. X, which already defeated publishers’ direct infringement claims, now feels it has zero liability for secondary infringement. “If the Supreme Court had issued this opinion three years ago, X believes this court would have dismissed plaintiffs’ contributory infringement claim in its entirety,” X’s attorneys blasted less than 48 hours after the Supreme Court’s verdict. 

Source: Did the Supreme Court Just Hand Elon Musk a Giant Victory Over Music Publishers?

Q&A: The UK’s Copyright Report – A Gift to Creators, a Problem for AI

The UK Government has released its long-awaited copyright report, framed as an attempt to reconcile the competing interests of creators, technology companies and the wider innovation ecosystem. Rightsholders will welcome it, while the UK’s AI sector will find less comfort. Two core policy decisions (on training data and on the ownership of AI-generated outputs) mark a shift away from earlier, more developer-friendly proposals. Both decisions leave significant questions unanswered.

Source: Q&A: The UK’s Copyright Report – A Gift to Creators, a Problem for AI

Quilty, AI Platform Designed to Change How Scripts Are Developed and Assessed, Launches

Quilty, a new artificial intelligence platform designed to help the entertainment industry make more informed financial and creative decisions, has launched. The technology includes creative analysis for scripts and projects, packaging suggestions, as well as market forecasting about how the film will do commercially. It also offers production planning services.

Source: Quilty, AI Platform Designed to Change How Scripts Are Developed and Assessed, Launches

See How Hollywood’s Job Market Is Collapsing

The early 2020s marked the apex of a production boom known as “peak TV,” during which streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and HBO Max tried to add subscribers as fast as possible. By the time strikes by actors and writers ended in 2023, Wall Street was demanding that streaming services give priority to profits over growth. The easiest way to get into the black was to cut production spending. 

Source: See How Hollywood’s Job Market Is Collapsing

Commentary: The Disney/Sora fiasco shows the limits of the AI craze

Sora’s demise points to more than the collapse of a big-media financial deal. It’s yet another indication that the allure of AI-created content for paying customers has been vastly overestimated. So too have been the ostensible efficiencies that AI brings to businesses. For example, Walmart has reportedly found that conversion rates — the percentage of consumers who complete an online transaction after an online search — are appreciably lower for consumers who attempt to complete the purchase through ChatGPT.

Source: Commentary: The Disney/Sora fiasco shows the limits of the AI craze

Authors’ lucky break in court may help class action over Meta torrenting

Looks like Meta is hoping the recent Supreme Court ruling that found Internet service providers aren’t liable for piracy on their networks will help the social media giant dodge liability claims over its torrenting of AI training data. In its statement, Meta said it would soon file a supplemental brief explaining why the ruling would support its motion to dismiss the Entrepreneur Media case.

Source: Authors’ lucky break in court may help class action over Meta torrenting

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