News/Feuds
Disney and NBCUniversal sue Midjourney for AI copyright infringement
Disney and NBCUniversal have filed the first major Hollywood lawsuit against AI image generator Midjourney, accusing the company of copyright infringement for allowing users to create images of characters like Darth Vader and Shrek. The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Los Angeles, marks a significant escalation in the entertainment industry's battle against generative AI companies over intellectual property rights. What you should know: The studios describe Midjourney as a "bottomless pit of plagiarism" that enables users to generate what they call "AI slop"—personalized images of copyrighted characters. Disney Enterprises, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century, Universal City Studios Productions, and...
read May 6, 2025Musk pursues OpenAI lawsuit despite nonprofit claims
The high-profile legal battle between Elon Musk and OpenAI takes a new turn as Musk plans to proceed with his lawsuit despite the AI company's revised governance structure. This case highlights the tensions between commercial growth and the original nonprofit mission in AI development, with significant implications for how major AI organizations balance profit motives with their stated ethical commitments. The latest development: Elon Musk will continue his lawsuit against OpenAI despite the company's proposal to maintain nonprofit control over its for-profit operations. OpenAI's new plan would keep its nonprofit parent in control of the for-profit arm while making the...
read Apr 12, 2025Musk’s xAI faces multiple trademark battles over “Grok” chatbot name
Elon Musk's xAI faces multiple trademark disputes over its chatbot name "Grok," highlighting the complexities of intellectual property in the rapidly expanding AI industry. The USPTO has suspended xAI's trademark application after flagging potential confusion with AI chipmaker Groq and software provider Grokstream, while startup Bizly claims it had already trademarked the name for its own AI product years earlier. The big picture: This marks yet another naming controversy for Musk, who recently settled a lawsuit with a marketing firm over the rights to "X" for his social media platform. Behind the name: Both Musk and Bizly derived "Grok" from...
read Apr 11, 2025OpenAI counter-sues Musk, claims $97B offer was a “sham” to sabotage company
The escalating legal battle between OpenAI and Elon Musk has taken a dramatic turn with OpenAI's counter-lawsuit, which alleges Musk's $97.375 billion bid was an elaborate sabotage attempt rather than a legitimate acquisition offer. This conflict represents a significant power struggle in the artificial intelligence industry, potentially impacting the future development trajectory of advanced AI systems and highlighting the increasingly personal nature of competition between AI companies and their founders. The big picture: OpenAI has counter-sued Elon Musk, claiming his nearly $100 billion acquisition bid was a "sham" deliberately timed to disrupt the company and scare away legitimate investors. The...
read Apr 9, 2025Judge denies Musk’s bid to block OpenAI’s for-profit shift, expedites fall trial
A federal judge has denied Elon Musk's attempt to immediately halt OpenAI's transition to a for-profit model, while agreeing to expedite a trial addressing the core legal dispute this fall. This latest development in the high-profile battle between Musk and the company he co-founded but later left highlights the tension between AI development for public benefit versus commercial interests, with billions in potential funding and competing business interests hanging in the balance. The ruling details: Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers determined Musk failed to meet the high legal threshold required for a preliminary injunction to block OpenAI's corporate restructuring. The judge...
read Feb 25, 2025UK newspapers launch coordinated AI protest in name of copyright protection
The UK media industry is grappling with proposed government changes that would allow AI companies to train their models on copyrighted content without permission. Major newspapers and creative organizations have launched coordinated protests against these proposals, which they argue could severely impact the UK's $152 billion creative sector. The big picture: UK newspapers have united in an unprecedented display of solidarity, featuring identical bright blue front pages with the "Make It Fair" campaign message to protest proposed changes to copyright law. The campaign coincides with the closure of a public consultation period that began December 17th, which sought feedback on...
read Feb 25, 2025British musicians release silent album in protest against AI
Recent developments in artificial intelligence regulation have sparked tension between UK lawmakers and the creative community, particularly around proposed changes to AI legislation. In February 2025, prominent British musicians launched an innovative form of protest against these regulatory shifts, expressing deep concerns about their artistic rights. The protest strategy: Several iconic British musicians, including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens, and Blur's Damon Albarn, released a "silent album" as a symbolic statement against proposed changes to UK AI laws. The unconventional protest format of a silent album serves as a powerful metaphor for artists' fears about losing their voice and...
read Feb 25, 2025Poach Me Not: OpenAI engineer’s viral response to xAI recruitment attempt
The artificial intelligence talent war has intensified in 2025, with companies aggressively recruiting top engineers from competitors. OpenAI engineer Javier Soto's public rejection of xAI's recruitment attempt highlights growing tensions between Elon Musk and his former company OpenAI. The recruitment rejection: An OpenAI engineer publicly shared his strongly-worded response to a recruitment attempt by Elon Musk's xAI, citing concerns about Musk's social media behavior and impact on democracy. Javier Soto posted a screenshot on X of his response to xAI's recruitment effort In his message, Soto acknowledged being a Tesla owner and SpaceX fan while criticizing Musk's social media rhetoric...
read Feb 24, 2025Elon Musk slams OpenAI’s ChatGPT secrecy despite Grok’s closed status
The evolution of AI companies' approaches to open-source development has become a contentious issue, particularly between industry pioneers. Elon Musk's recent $97.4 billion bid to acquire OpenAI, a company he co-founded in 2015, has highlighted growing tensions around AI transparency and accessibility. The key conflict: Elon Musk's criticism of OpenAI for not open-sourcing ChatGPT contrasts sharply with his own company xAI's practices regarding their Grok AI model. Musk's $97.4 billion bid to acquire OpenAI was rejected by the company's board Throughout 2024, Musk filed four separate legal actions against OpenAI, claiming it had strayed from its open-source mission Musk has...
read Feb 12, 2025Founder’s syndrome pits Elon Musk against OpenAI, revealing tech founder ego clash
The battle between tech titans Elon Musk and Sam Altman over artificial intelligence company OpenAI has escalated to new heights with Musk's $97.4 billion takeover bid. The conflict stems from their 2015 co-founding of OpenAI as a non-profit organization, which later evolved into a hybrid structure combining non-profit oversight with for-profit operations. The big picture: Musk's consortium has launched an aggressive bid to acquire OpenAI's controlling non-profit arm, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing feud between the co-founders. The offer values the non-profit entity at $97.4 billion, though OpenAI's overall valuation could reach $300 billion in potential deals with...
read Feb 11, 2025Sam Altman responds to Elon Musk’s takeover bid: ‘I don’t think he’s a happy person’
The rivalry between OpenAI and Elon Musk has intensified with Musk's recent $97.4 billion buyout offer for OpenAI, which CEO Sam Altman promptly rejected. This latest development adds another chapter to the ongoing conflict between the former OpenAI co-founder and the company he helped create. Key developments: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly responded to Elon Musk's takeover attempt during an interview at the Paris AI Action Summit, dismissing it as another attempt to impede OpenAI's progress. Altman characterized Musk's offer as "this week's episode" in a series of tactics designed to slow down OpenAI The massive $97.4 billion buyout offer...
read Feb 11, 2025AI titans Musk and Altman clash over OpenAI’s true worth
Elon Musk's recent $97.4 billion bid to acquire OpenAI marks a significant development in the artificial intelligence industry, highlighting the growing tension between major tech players. This potential acquisition attempt comes amid shifting dynamics in AI development and commercialization, with OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman publicly dismissing the offer. The core offer: Elon Musk and his investors have proposed a $97.4 billion takeover of OpenAI, representing one of the largest potential AI acquisitions to date. Sam Altman responded dismissively on X (formerly Twitter), countering with a joke about buying X for $9.74 billion The bid comes at a time when AI...
read Feb 10, 2025OpenAI CEO rejects $97.4B takeover bid from Musk and investors
Open AI's rapid growth and leadership in artificial intelligence has made it a prime target for acquisition, with its CEO Sam Altman at the center of high-stakes power plays. The tension between Altman and former OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk has escalated into a public battle over the company's future direction and control. Breaking developments: A consortium of investors led by Elon Musk and including Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel has made a $97.4 billion offer to take control of OpenAI. Sam Altman publicly rejected the offer on X (formerly Twitter) with a counter-jab, offering to buy Twitter for $9.74 billion Musk...
read Feb 10, 2025Musk leads $97.4B bid to acquire OpenAI
The artificial intelligence landscape is witnessing a dramatic power struggle as Elon Musk attempts to regain control of OpenAI, the company he co-founded in 2015. This bid represents the latest development in an ongoing conflict between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the company's direction and mission. The big picture: A Musk-led consortium has made a $97.4 billion bid to acquire the nonprofit entity controlling OpenAI, marking a significant escalation in the battle for the future of one of AI's most influential companies. The offer comes amid Musk's existing lawsuit against OpenAI, which aims to prevent the company's transition...
read Feb 1, 2025Does OpenAI really have the right to criticize DeepSeek’s data acquisition practices?
GenAI company OpenAI has raised concerns about Chinese AI firm DeepSeek's new R1 model, which achieves similar results to OpenAI's premium models while using significantly less computing power. Key developments: DeepSeek's breakthrough has challenged fundamental assumptions about the resources needed to develop advanced AI models. The R1 model delivers comparable performance to OpenAI's best paid models despite using only a fraction of the computing power This development questions industry assumptions about the necessity of ever-increasing data and computational requirements The news has impacted investor confidence in OpenAI, which projects profitability only by decade's end OpenAI's response: The company has taken...
read Jan 29, 2025OpenAI is investigating a potential data breach by DeepSeek
ChatGPT maker OpenAI is investigating Chinese AI startup DeepSeek for potentially misusing data from its models to create a competing AI assistant. Core investigation details; OpenAI is reviewing evidence that DeepSeek may have used a technique called distillation to transfer knowledge from OpenAI's models to its own smaller model. Distillation is a legitimate technique that transfers knowledge between AI models without exposing their inner workings While distillation itself is permitted, OpenAI's terms of service prohibit using distilled data to build competing AI products OpenAI is working with the U.S. government to protect advanced AI models developed in the United States...
read Jan 27, 2025Elon Musk isn’t buying DeepSeek’s performance claims
DeepSeek AI's claims about efficient chip usage for their language models have sparked skepticism from tech leaders, particularly Elon Musk, as the Chinese AI company gains prominence in global markets. Key developments: DeepSeek AI has emerged as a significant player in the artificial intelligence landscape, with their AI assistant recently becoming the top-rated free application on the US Apple App Store. DeepSeek claims to train its V3 model using only 2,000 specialized Nvidia chips, compared to the reported 16,000 or more chips required by leading competitors The company's AI assistant is powered by their open-source models, which they assert can...
read Jan 25, 2025Big Tech’s AI spending spree—and a potential Microsoft-OpenAI rift—is only just beginning
Recent developments reveal a growing rift between Microsoft and OpenAI, as Satya Nadella’s public statements and Microsoft’s decision to forgo involvement in OpenAI’s Stargate AI project highlight diverging priorities. While OpenAI pursues independence with its ambitious infrastructure plans, Microsoft is doubling down on its own $80 billion AI investments, signaling a competitive shift in the AI landscape. Meanwhile, other major tech players eye their own ambitious AI spending plans. Core development: Nadella's public statements reveal a growing rift between Microsoft and OpenAI, particularly regarding the massive Stargate AI infrastructure project. During a CNBC appearance, Nadella explicitly stated he's "not in...
read Jan 25, 2025AI art hides GenAI’s bigger potential, says Stanford professor
The rise of AI-generated art has ignited a debate about its ethical and cultural implications, especially after provocative remarks from Suno's CEO about the creative process. Ge Wang, a Stanford professor of Music and Computer Science, critiques the notion of AI as merely a labor-saving tool in art, highlighting the intrinsic value of the creative journey. This conversation sheds light on deeper questions about creativity, human expression, and the evolving role of AI in artistic endeavors. Core argument: Ge Wang challenges the idea that AI should serve primarily as a labor-saving tool for creative expression, arguing it misunderstands the value...
read Jan 23, 2025Ambition meets controversy in Trump’s $500B AI moonshot
President Trump has announced a $500 billion private-sector AI initiative called "Project Stargate," partnering with major tech companies to build massive AI data centers across America while reducing regulatory oversight. Project overview and key players: The initiative brings together OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank to construct 20 AI data centers nationwide, with the first facility already under construction in Texas. The initial commitment stands at $100 billion, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella confirming an $80 billion contribution The path to reaching the full $500 billion target remains unclear, depending heavily on future fundraising and market conditions Construction has already begun on...
read Jan 23, 2025Tech giants clash over Trump’s $500B AI project
Trump's newly announced Stargate project aims to invest up to $500 billion in U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure through a joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank, sparking debate among tech industry leaders. Project overview and key players: The White House unveiled the Stargate initiative with initial commitments of $100 billion from major technology companies and investors, potentially scaling to $500 billion over four years. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son will chair the project, with Arm, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and OpenAI serving as primary technology partners The initiative focuses on expanding domestic computing capacity to enhance U.S. AI development capabilities Key executives...
read Jan 22, 2025Musk and Altman clash over Trump-backed AI data center project
A public dispute between Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has erupted over the legitimacy of the Stargate AI infrastructure project, following President Trump's announcement of the initiative. Project announcement and scope: The Stargate project represents a proposed $500 billion joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank to develop AI data centers and infrastructure across the United States. President Trump unveiled the partnership as a major initiative to bolster American AI capabilities The project builds upon existing AI infrastructure development efforts, including work already underway by companies like Crusoe Energy Systems Microsoft, despite its close partnership with OpenAI, was...
read Jan 22, 2025Microsoft CEO dismisses Musk’s Stargate accusations
Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella has addressed recent speculation about AI infrastructure funding, focusing specifically on Microsoft's own substantial financial commitment to AI development through Azure. Core statement: In a CNBC interview, Nadella sidestepped direct questions about OpenAI and Softbank's financial capacity to support The Stargate Project, instead emphasizing Microsoft's own committed investment. Nadella explicitly confirmed Microsoft's plan to invest $80 billion annually in expanding Azure's AI infrastructure capabilities The CEO maintained distance from questions about other companies' financial situations, stating he's "not in the details" of investments in The Stargate Project The statement comes amid growing scrutiny of major AI...
read Jan 22, 2025Elon is taking to social media to throw shade on Trump’s $500B AI plan
OpenAI, Oracle and other tech giants announced a massive AI infrastructure project in partnership with the Trump administration, immediately drawing skepticism from Elon Musk about its financial viability. Project Overview: The Stargate initiative, announced by President Trump, represents a planned $500 billion investment in U.S.-based AI data centers over four years. The project involves major tech companies including OpenAI, Oracle, MGX, and Japanese investment firm SoftBank Construction has already begun on an initial data center in Texas, according to Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison Trump characterized the initiative as "the largest AI infrastructure project by far in history" and "a resounding...
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