President Donald Trump has renewed his threat of implementing tariffs on films produced outside the United States. It’s unclear what reignited the proclamation, but Trump made a similar declaration in May because he deemed foreign productions a “national security threat” to the American movie industry, adding that they not only draw filmmakers out to other markets but also bring “messaging and propaganda” into the United States.
Judge approves $1.5 billion settlement over Anthropic’s alleged use of pirated books
U.S. District Judge William Alsup issued the preliminary approval in San Francisco federal court Thursday after the two sides worked to address his concerns about the settlement, which will pay authors and publishers about $3,000 for each of the books covered by the agreement. It does not apply to future works. “This is a fair settlement,” Alsup said, though he added that distributing it to all parties will be “complicated.”
Source: Judge approves $1.5 billion settlement over AI company Anthropic’s alleged use of pirated books
Google makes real-world data more accessible to AI — and training pipelines will love it
Google is turning its vast public data trove into a goldmine for AI with the debut of the Data Commons Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server — enabling developers, data scientists, and AI agents to access real-world statistics using natural language and better train AI systems. Data Commons’ new MCP server bridges public datasets — from census figures to climate statistics — with AI systems that increasingly depend on accurate, structured context.
In ‘landmark’ move, SESAC and GMR join ASCAP and BMI’s ‘Songview’ database
In December 2020, US PROs ASCAP and BMI launched a public performance copyright database called Songview as a “groundbreaking collaboration” aimed to serve as a “comprehensive data resource for music users.” A “landmark expansion” of the platform was announced on Monday (September 29), with data from all four major performing rights organizations in the United States – ASCAP, BMI, GMR and SESAC – to be integrated into the Songview platform.
Adviser to UK minister claimed AI firms would never have to compensate creatives
Kirsty Innes, recently appointed as a special adviser to Liz Kendall, the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, said “whether or not you philosophically believe the big AI firms should compensate content creators, they in practice will never legally have to”. Innes has deleted the statement, which she posted to X in February. In the deleted posts, seen by the Guardian, she said: “A lot of this has already happened and it can continue to happen outside the UK, whatever our laws say.”
Source: Adviser to UK minister claimed AI firms would never have to compensate creatives
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