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 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
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
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
Source: AI-backed robot painting aims to boost artist income
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
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.
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
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
This is no AI illusion. A perfect storm appears to be gathering around the world of generative artificial intelligence that promises to have profound effects on how Hollywood does business. In fact, there’s a fair chance that the generative AI revolution will have a bigger impact on Hollywood from a business and ownership standpoint, even before the technology itself can transform the making of movies and TV shows.
Source: Big Tech Is Under Pressure From Emerging AI Giants. How Will This Change Hollywood?