The UK competition watchdog has ended its investigation into the partnership between Microsoft and the maker of ChatGPT, OpenAI. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) concluded that, despite Microsoft investing billions of dollars into OpenAI and having exclusive uses of some of its AI products, the partnership remains the same, so is not subject to review under the UK’s merger rules. Digital rights campaigners, Foxglove, said it showed the CMA had been “defanged.”
Source: UK competition watchdog drops Microsoft-OpenAI probe
Sen. Wyden (D-Oregon) wants the guidance to include how long a license lasts, what circumstances might expire or revoke the license, and if a consumer can transfer or resell the license. The letter also calls for the information “before and at the point of sale” in a way that’s easily understandable. “To put it simply, prior to agreeing to any transaction, consumers should understand what they are paying for and what is guaranteed after the sale,” Wyden says.
An AI “licensing and protection” platform called Vermillio has raised $16 million in a Series A funding round led by Sony Music Entertainment and DNS Capital. Vermillio said on Monday (March 3) that it plans to use the funds to scale its operations and continue “building out solutions for a generative AI internet that enables talent, studios, record labels, and more to protect and monetize their content”.
Action is needed to protect workers in creative industries amid huge changes in technology and artificial intelligence, unions have urged. The TUC said there was an urgent need to put in place “proper guardrails” for workers ranging from artists, writers and journalists to teachers and academics. The union organisation said government proposals for copyright and an AI framework, which are under consultation, needed to go further to protect creative workers.
So long, Spotify: Snoop Dogg says he’s “ditching” the streaming service for blockchain-powered competitor Tune.fm, where he’s exclusively released a new single. In no uncertain terms, the longtime crypto enthusiast Snoop Dogg attributed the switch to his allegedly miniscule Spotify royalty payments. And on that front, the rap mainstay said he’d pocketed only $45,000 or so from a staggering one billion Spotify streams.