News/Copyright
Cloudflare Fights AI Bots as Tech Giants Clash Over Web Scraping Rules
AI is rewriting the rules of the internet, and Cloudflare is stepping in to help customers protect their data from being scraped by AI bots: Tech giants grapple with web scraping for AI: Major tech companies are changing their policies around web scraping, with some blaming third parties for ignoring robots.txt files and others seemingly asserting the right to use any publicly posted data for AI training: Google's AI chatbot Bard has updated its privacy policy, allowing it to train on data scraped from the web. Microsoft executive Suleyman has suggested that anything posted online is fair game for AI...
read Jul 3, 2024Perplexity’s AI Upgrade Marred by Plagiarism Accusations Amid Enhanced Search Capabilities
Perplexity, an AI search startup facing ethical questions, has launched a significant upgrade to its Pro Search tool, claiming it can now handle more complex queries and provide in-depth answers by breaking down problems step-by-step. Enhanced capabilities: Pro Search's new features aim to improve its ability to tackle advanced research and mathematical tasks: The tool can now understand when a question requires planning and work through goals in a step-by-step manner, synthesizing detailed answers more efficiently. Examples showcased by Perplexity demonstrate Pro Search's ability to break down complex queries, such as determining the best time and locations to view the...
read Jul 3, 2024AI Trains on Kids’ Photos Without Consent, Enabling Realistic Deepfakes and Tracking
A Human Rights Watch investigation has revealed that photos of real children posted online are being used to train AI image generators without consent, posing significant privacy and safety risks. Key findings from Australia: HRW researcher Hye Jung Han discovered 190 photos of Australian children, including indigenous kids, linked in the LAION-5B AI dataset: The photos span entire childhoods, enabling AI to generate realistic deepfakes of these children. Dataset URLs sometimes reveal identifying information like names and locations, making it easy to track down the children. Even photos posted with strict privacy settings, such as unlisted YouTube videos, were scraped...
read Jul 3, 2024AI Chatbot Controversy Ignites Leadership Turmoil at European Geosciences Union
A controversy over an AI chatbot developed in China has caused a rift at the European Geosciences Union (EGU), resulting in the firing of its president: AI chatbot sparks concerns: GeoGPT, an AI-powered chatbot being developed by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba as part of the Deep-time Digital Earth (DDE) initiative, has raised concerns about transparency, potential state censorship, and copyright infringement: Paul Cleverly, a visiting professor, highlighted "serious issues" with GeoGPT regarding lack of transparency, potential state censorship, and copyright infringement in an editorial. A group of publishers argued that GeoGPT was built off unlicensed literature and lacked transparency by...
read Jul 1, 2024Microsoft AI Boss: Publishing Online Makes Content Free for AI to Copy
Microsoft's AI boss Mustafa Suleyman claims publishing content on the open web makes it "fair use" for anyone to freely copy and use, sparking controversy amid ongoing lawsuits against Microsoft and OpenAI over alleged copyright infringement in training AI models. Key misconceptions about copyright law: Suleyman's statements reveal a flawed understanding of how copyright and fair use operate on the internet: He incorrectly asserts that publishing content online automatically makes it "freeware" that anyone can copy and use, despite copyright protection applying automatically to original works upon creation. Suleyman mistakenly claims a "social contract" grants fair use for web content,...
read Jul 1, 2024Morgan Freeman Slams Unauthorized AI Voice Imitations, Urges Authenticity Amidst Advancing Tech
Morgan Freeman speaks out against unauthorized AI voice imitations: The acclaimed actor thanked fans for their vigilance in calling out the deceptive use of AI-generated voices imitating his own, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and integrity in the face of advancing AI technology. Rising concerns over celebrity voice imitations in AI: Freeman's statement comes amidst growing unease in the entertainment industry regarding the unauthorized use of AI to mimic well-known voices: Actress Scarlett Johansson recently called on OpenAI to disclose how it created an AI assistant with a voice extremely similar to hers, despite her refusal to work with the...
read Jul 1, 2024Microsoft AI CEO’s “Freeware” Claim Sparks Copyright Controversy and Legal Battles
Microsoft AI CEO claims web content is "freeware" for training AI models, sparking controversy and legal challenges over the use of copyrighted material without explicit consent. Key takeaways: Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft's CEO of AI, stated that content on the open web is considered "freeware" that can be copied and used to create new content, unless explicitly prohibited by the creator: Suleyman claimed this has been the "social contract" for web content since the 1990s, allowing anyone to copy, recreate, and reproduce content. He acknowledged a "gray area" where websites or publishers have explicitly stated their content should only be indexed...
read Jun 28, 2024EU Accuses Apple of Using AI Delays to Hinder Competition
The EU's competition chief Margrethe Vestager has criticized Apple for delaying AI features in the EU due to regulatory requirements under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), suggesting the company is using this as an excuse to hinder competition. Apple's AI delays in the EU: Apple recently announced it would delay certain AI features on EU iPhones, citing "regulatory uncertainties" and "interoperability requirements" under the DMA as the reasons: The delayed features include AI-powered screen mirroring and SharePlay, which were unveiled at WWDC 2024 for iOS 18 and macOS 15. Apple's decision has drawn scrutiny from the EU, with concerns that...
read Jun 28, 2024AWS Probes AI Startup Perplexity Over Alleged Data Scraping Violations
Amazon investigates Perplexity AI over potential data-scraping violations: Amazon Web Services is looking into whether AI startup Perplexity is violating its terms of service by scraping web content without permission, following reports from multiple news outlets. Accusations of improper data scraping: Several publications, including Forbes and Wired, have accused Perplexity of swiping their web archives to train its AI models without consent or compensation: Forbes alleged that Perplexity is creating "knockoff stories" using similar wording and lifted fragments from its articles without adequate citation. Wired identified an IP address it believes Perplexity is using to crawl its sites and those...
read Jun 28, 2024CIR Sues OpenAI, Microsoft for Copyright Infringement in AI Training
The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging copyright infringement related to their use of CIR's content in training AI models without permission or compensation. Key details of the lawsuit: The CIR claims that OpenAI and Microsoft have copied, used, and displayed CIR's journalistic content without authorization, and that OpenAI trained ChatGPT to disregard copyright: The lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of New York, with the CIR seeking damages and profits from the defendants. CIR's CEO accused OpenAI and Microsoft of "free rider behavior," using their stories to enhance AI products...
read Jun 28, 2024Perplexity’s Unethical Practices Threaten Web’s Foundations, Raising Concerns for AI Industry’s Integrity
Perplexity, an AI startup creating a Google Search competitor, has been engaging in unethical practices to build its "answer engine," raising questions about the company's integrity and the broader implications for the web. Key issues with Perplexity's approach: Perplexity's practices have come under scrutiny for their potential to undermine the web's foundations and the work of primary sources: Perplexity's "answer engine" acts as a rent-seeking middleman, providing answers directly to users rather than sending traffic to the original sources, thus depriving them of ad revenue. The company's Pages product creates entire aggregated articles by plagiarizing content from primary sources, going...
read Jun 27, 2024YouTube Pursuing AI Song Deals, Prompting Debate Over Music’s Future
YouTube is negotiating with major record labels to license music for its AI song generation tools, aiming to launch new features this year despite many artists' opposition to AI-generated music. Key Points: YouTube needs labels' content to legally train AI song generators and is offering upfront payments to convince more artists to participate. The company tested a limited AI tool called "Dream Track" last year with only 10 artists, and now wants to sign up "dozens" for a broader rollout in 2024. The deals would apply to select artists rather than being blanket licenses, with labels encouraging their stars to...
read Jun 26, 2024Reddit Defies AI Bots, Igniting Battle Over Internet Data Control
Upending the web's long-standing data-sharing model, Reddit takes a stand against AI bots scraping its content, signaling a larger battle over who controls and profits from the internet's data. Key Takeaways: Reddit is escalating its fight against unauthorized AI bots by updating its robots.txt file, a core web component that dictates how web crawlers can access a site: The move aims to block most automated bots from accessing Reddit's public data without a licensing agreement, a policy that has technically been in place but is now being actively enforced. Reddit's chief legal officer, Ben Lee, emphasizes that the change sends...
read Jun 26, 2024AI Music Startup Udio Fights Back Against Record Labels’ Copyright Lawsuits
Udio, an AI music startup, has responded to copyright infringement lawsuits filed by major record labels, asserting that its AI model does not reproduce copyrighted works and instead creates new musical ideas. Udio's mission and impact: Udio aims to empower artists and musicians to create extraordinary music using AI technology, and has already seen its platform used in various ways: Musicians who have lost the ability to use their hands are making music again with Udio's technology. Producers have sampled AI-generated tracks to create hit songs like 'BBL Drizzy'. Users have expressed a wide range of emotions through the music...
read Jun 25, 2024Startup Helps Authors License Work to AI, Navigating Rights in New Era
A startup called Created by Humans is launching to help book authors license their work to AI companies, aiming to create a framework for AI rights and broker deals between authors, publishers, and AI firms. Filling a void in the market: Created by Humans seeks to address the lack of universal permissioning and monetization systems for creative content used to train large language models: The startup is one of several emerging to help creators navigate the complex landscape of licensing their work for use in AI technologies. Co-founder and CEO Trip Adler brings years of experience working with book authors...
read Jun 25, 2024Record Labels Sue AI Music Startups Udio and Suno Over Alleged Copyright Infringement
Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group are suing generative AI music startups Suno and Udio over alleged copyright infringement, with the lawsuits including examples of AI-generated songs that closely resemble the work of human artists. Key Takeaways: The lawsuits filed by major record labels against Suno and Udio underscore the growing tension between the music industry and AI companies: The plaintiffs, which include Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group, claim that Suno and Udio have infringed on their copyrights by using their music to train AI models without permission. Examples of AI-generated...
read Jun 24, 2024Perplexity AI CEO’s Unconvincing Response to Plagiarism Claims Raises AI Search Engine Concerns
Perplexity AI's CEO provides unconvincing responses to plagiarism accusations, highlighting the challenges of AI-powered search engines and the complex landscape of intellectual property rights in the digital age. Key takeaways: Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, struggled to adequately address concerns raised by Fast Company regarding his search engine's alleged plagiarism of paywalled content: Srinivas attempted to shift blame to unnamed "third-party web crawlers" and claimed it was too "complicated" to stop the practice. He suggested that ignoring robots.txt files, which websites use to specify which parts of their content should not be crawled by search engines, is not technically...
read Jun 24, 2024RIAA Sues AI Startups Over Copyrighted Music, Highlighting Growing Tensions in Creative Industries
The Recording Industry Association of America is suing two AI startups, Suno and Uncharted Labs, alleging they used copyrighted music to train their AI systems without consent from the record labels, highlighting the growing tensions between the music industry and AI developers. Key Details: The lawsuits target Suno, which raised $125 million last month, and Uncharted Labs, the developer behind Udio, known for the viral AI-generated "BBL Drizzy" song: Suno and Udio are accused of training their AI models with the labels' unlicensed sound recordings to enable users to create songs with just a few prompts. Udio relies on OpenAI's...
read Jun 24, 2024Perplexity AI Faces Scrutiny Over Alleged Plagiarism and Aggressive Web Scraping
Perplexity AI faces scrutiny over alleged plagiarism and aggressive web scraping practices, raising legal and ethical questions about the startup's approach to building its search engine. Key findings and reactions: WIRED's reporting has uncovered evidence suggesting Perplexity AI may be engaging in questionable practices: The company appears to be violating its own publicly stated policy by scraping websites that have attempted to block it using the Robots Exclusion Protocol. Perplexity's chatbot generated a summary of a WIRED article that included a verbatim sentence without proper attribution, which some experts consider plagiarism. The startup's practices have drawn strong criticism from journalism...
read Jun 19, 2024Publishers Accuse Perplexity of Unauthorized Web Scraping
Perplexity, a buzzy AI search engine, faces criticism from publishers for ignoring robots.txt files and scraping their content without permission, raising questions about the startup's practices and the future of online publishing. Perplexity's alleged web scraping practices: Despite being blocked by some websites, Perplexity continues to access and use their content, sparking outrage among publishers: Wired and Robb Knight, a developer at MacStories, found that Perplexity ignored their robots.txt files, which are standard instructions for web crawlers to respect a website's preferences regarding content scraping. The publishers had explicitly blocked Perplexity in these files but discovered that the AI search...
read Jun 19, 2024Perplexity AI’s Search Engine: Groundbreaking Innovation or Google Imitation? Scrutiny Mounts as Similarities Emerge
Perplexity AI, a startup leveraging advanced language models to create a new search engine, has faced scrutiny over the similarity of its search results to those of Google, raising questions about the true extent of its innovation and the potential implications for the future of search. Key Takeaways: Perplexity AI's search engine, which relies on OpenAI's language models, has generated both excitement and skepticism within the tech industry: The startup claims its search engine represents a significant advancement in search technology, providing more comprehensive and conversational results compared to traditional search engines like Google. However, an analysis of Perplexity's search...
read Jun 19, 2024Runway’s Gen-3 Alpha Sparks AI-Generated Video Revolution, Threatening Jobs and Raising Copyright Concerns
Runway's latest AI model, Gen-3 Alpha, generates high-quality video clips from text and images, offering improved speed, fidelity, and control compared to its predecessor, as the race for advanced AI-generated video heats up in the tech industry. Key features and capabilities: Gen-3 Alpha excels at generating expressive human characters with a wide range of actions, gestures, and emotions, while interpreting various styles and cinematic terminology: The model enables imaginative transitions and precise key-framing of elements in the scene, allowing for more creative control over the generated videos. Despite some limitations, such as a maximum video length of 10 seconds and...
read Apr 18, 2024A Pivotal Copyright Rulings Set to Define AI’s Future in 2024
Looming Fights Over Copyright in AI Set to Shape the Technology's Future in 2024 As generative AI tools continue to push the boundaries of what's possible, a growing number of copyright disputes are poised to significantly impact the trajectory of AI innovation in the year ahead. Driving the news: The New York Times recently filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that their AI systems' "widescale copying" constitutes copyright infringement. The big picture: After a year of lawsuits from creators seeking to protect their works from being absorbed and repackaged by generative AI tools, 2024 could see crucial rulings...
read Apr 11, 2024Copyright battles to shape AI’s future in 2024
Looming fights over copyright in AI are likely to set the new technology's course in 2024 faster than legislation or regulation. Driving the news: The New York Times filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming their AI systems' "widescale copying" constitutes copyright infringement. The big picture: After a year of lawsuits from creators protecting their works from being used by generative AI tools, the new year could see significant rulings that alter the progress of AI innovation. Why it matters: The copyright decisions coming down the pike - over the use of copyrighted material in AI development and the...
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