Meta, the owner of Facebook, is contemplating blocking news content in Australia if the government enforces licensing fees, a company representative revealed during a parliamentary hearing. Meta’s regional policy director, Mia Garlick, stated that ‘all options are on the table’ to avoid paying fees, emphasising that there are many alternative channels for news content. Meta is awaiting a decision from Canberra on whether it will apply a 2021 law that allows the government to set fees for US tech giants to pay media outlets for links.
The intention to withdraw news from its platforms mirrors Meta’s stance in Canada in 2023 when similar laws were introduced and followed by the pressure of Prime Minister Trudeau to ensure Meta complies with the Online News Act, which requires tech giants with 20 million monthly users and over C$1 billion in annual revenue to compensate Canadian news publishers.
Meta had initially struck deals with Australian media firms, including News Corp and the Australian Broadcasting Corp, but has announced it will only renew these arrangements in 2024. Australia’s assistant treasurer must now decide whether to force Meta to pay for news content, while free-to-air broadcasters like Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media are already citing revenue losses and cutting jobs in anticipation of expired deals with Meta.
In defence, Garlick explained that blocking news content would be a form of compliance with the law, stating that Meta adheres to other laws such as tax, safety, and privacy. She also defended Meta’s content moderation processes, which were managed from centres outside Australia. Addressing concerns about harmful misinformation and scams, including a lawsuit by billionaire Andrew Forrest over scam ads featuring his image, Garlick acknowledged the challenges but assured that Meta has policies and tools to combat such issues.
YouTube is negotiating with major record labels to license their songs for AI tools that clone popular artists’ music. The negotiations aim to secure the content needed to legally train AI song generators and launch new tools this year. Google-owned YouTube has offered upfront payments to major labels like Sony, Warner, and Universal to encourage artists to participate, but many remain opposed, fearing it could devalue their work.
Previously, YouTube tested an AI tool called ‘Dream Track,’ which allowed users to create music clips mimicking well-known artists. However, only a few artists participated, including Charli XCX and John Legend. YouTube now hopes to sign up dozens more artists to expand its AI song generator tool, though it won’t carry the Dream Track brand.
Why does it matter?
These negotiations come as AI companies like OpenAI are making licensing agreements with media groups. The proposed music deals would involve one-off payments to labels rather than royalty-based arrangements. YouTube’s AI tools could become part of its Shorts platform, competing with TikTok and other similar platforms. As these discussions continue, major labels are also suing AI startups for allegedly using copyrighted recordings without permission, seeking significant damages.
AI is revolutionising the world of advertising, particularly when it comes to humour. Traditionally, humour in advertising was heavily depended on human creativity, relying on puns, sarcasm, and funny voices to engage consumers. However, as AI advances, it is increasingly being used to create comedic content.
Neil Heymann, Global Chief Creative Officer at Accenture Song, discussed the integration of AI in humour at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. He noted that while humour in advertising carries certain risks, the potential rewards far outweigh them. Despite the challenges of maintaining a unique comedic voice in a globalised market, AI offers new opportunities for creativity and personalisation.
One notable example Heymann highlighted was a recent Uber ad in the UK featuring Robert De Niro. He emphasised that while AI might struggle to replicate the nuanced performance of an actor like De Niro, it can still be a valuable tool for generating humour. For instance, a new tool developed by Google Labs can create jokes by exploring various wordplay and puns, expanding the creative options available to writers.
Heymann believes that AI can also help navigate the complexities of global advertising. By acting as an advanced filtering system, AI can identify potential cultural pitfalls and ensure that humorous content resonates with diverse audiences without losing the thrill of creativity.
Moreover, AI’s impact on advertising extends beyond humour. Toys ‘R’ Us recently pioneered text-to-video AI-generated advertising clips, showcasing AI’s ability to revolutionise content creation across various formats. That innovation highlights the expanding role of AI in shaping the future of advertising, where technological advancements continuously redefine creative possibilities.
Reddit has announced updates to its Robots Exclusion Protocol (robots.txt file), which regulates automated web bot access to websites. Traditionally used to allow search engines to index site content, the protocol now faces challenges with AI-driven scraping for model training, often without proper attribution.
In addition to the revised robots.txt file, Reddit will enforce rate limits and blocks on unidentified bots and crawlers. According to multiple sources, these measures apply to entities not complying with Reddit’s Public Content Policy or lacking formal agreements with the platform. The changes are aimed at deterring AI companies from using Reddit content to train large language models without permission. Despite these updates, AI crawlers could potentially disregard Reddit’s directives, as highlighted by recent incidents.
Recently, Wired uncovered that AI-powered startup Perplexity continued scraping Reddit content despite being blocked in the robots.txt file. Perplexity’s CEO argued that robots.txt isn’t legally binding, raising questions about the effectiveness of such protocols in regulating AI scraping practices.
Reddit’s updates will exempt authorised partners like Google, with whom Reddit has a substantial agreement allowing AI model training on its data. This move signals Reddit’s stance on controlling access to its content for AI training purposes, emphasising compliance with its policies to safeguard user interests.
These developments align with Reddit’s recent policy updates, underscoring its efforts to manage and regulate data access and use by commercial entities and partners.
Several companies that license music, images, videos, and other datasets for training AI systems have formed the first trade group in the sector, the Dataset Providers Alliance (DPA). The founding members of the DPA include Rightsify, vAIsual, Pixta, and Datarade. The group aims to advocate for ethical data sourcing, including protecting intellectual property rights and ensuring rights for individuals depicted in datasets.
The rise of generative AI technologies has led to backlash from content creators and numerous copyright lawsuits against major tech companies like Google, Meta, and OpenAI. Developers often train AI models using vast amounts of content, much of which is scraped from the internet without permission. To address these issues, the DPA will establish ethical standards for data transactions, ensuring that members do not sell data obtained without explicit consent. The alliance will also push for legislative measures in the NO FAKES Act, penalising unauthorised digital replicas of voices or likenesses and supporting transparency requirements in AI training data.
The DPA plans to release a white paper in July outlining its positions and advocating for these standards and legislative changes to ensure ethical practices in AI data sourcing and usage.
OpenAI has announced a delay in launching new voice and emotion-reading features for its ChatGPT chatbot, citing the need for more safety testing. Originally set to be available to some paying subscribers in late June, these features will be rolled out in the fall.
We're sharing an update on the advanced Voice Mode we demoed during our Spring Update, which we remain very excited about:
We had planned to start rolling this out in alpha to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users in late June, but need one more month to reach our bar to launch.…
The postponement follows a demonstration last month that garnered user excitement and sparked controversy, including a potential lawsuit from actress Scarlett Johansson, who claimed her voice was mimicked for an AI persona.
OpenAI’s demo showcased the chatbot’s ability to speak in synthetic voices and respond to users’ tones and expressions, with one voice resembling Johansson’s role in the movie ‘Her.’ However, CEO Sam Altman denied using Johansson’s voice, clarifying that a different actor was used for training. The company aims to ensure the new features meet high safety and reliability standards before release.
The delay highlights ongoing challenges in the AI industry. Companies like Google and Microsoft have faced similar setbacks, dealing with errors and controversial outputs from their AI tools.
OpenAI emphasised the complexity of designing chatbots that interpret and mimic emotions, which can introduce new risks and potential for misuse. Additionally, the competition in AI industry is growing swiftly to satisfy the demand of a more and more demanding market and customer field. However, the company seems to be committed to releasing these advanced features thoughtfully and safely.
Meta faced criticism from photographers after its ‘Made by AI’ label was incorrectly applied to genuine photos. Notably, a photo taken by former White House photographer Pete Souza and an Instagram photo of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL victory were wrongly marked as AI-generated. Photographers have reported that even minor edits using tools like Adobe’s Generative Fill can trigger Meta’s algorithm to label images as AI-generated.
Pete Souza and others have expressed frustration at being unable to remove these labels, suspecting that specific editing processes may be causing the issue. Meta’s labelling approach is also affecting photos with minimal AI modifications, leading to concerns about the accuracy and fairness of such labels. Photographer Noah Kalina argued that if minor retouching counts as AI-generated, the term loses its meaning and authenticity.
In response, Meta stated it is reviewing feedback to ensure its labels accurately reflect the amount of AI used in images. The company relies on industry-standard indicators and collaborates with other companies to refine its process. Meta’s labelling initiative, introduced to combat misinformation ahead of election season, involves tagging AI-generated content from major tech firms. However, the exact triggers for the “Made with AI” label remain undisclosed.
Brazil’s top court has decided to close an investigation into Alphabet’s Google and Telegram. The tech giants were being investigated for allegedly coordinating their opposition to a bill designed to combat fake news. The pending bill would require internet companies to find and report illegal material on their platforms, with heavy fines for non-compliance.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes ruled in favour of Brazil’s deputy prosecutor general, who saw no grounds for criminal proceedings against the companies. The investigation into the executives from these tech firms, which Moraes ordered last year, will now be halted.
A new UNESCO report highlights the growing risk of Holocaust distortion through AI-generated content as young people increasingly rely on Generative AI for information. The report, published with the World Jewish Congress, warns that AI can amplify biases and spread misinformation, as many AI systems are trained on internet data that includes harmful content. Such content led to fabricated testimonies and distorted historical records, such as deepfake images and false quotes.
The report notes that Generative AI models can ‘hallucinate’ or invent events due to insufficient or incorrect data. Examples include ChatGPT fabricating Holocaust events that never happened and Google’s Bard generating fake quotes. These kinds of ‘hallucinations’ not only distort historical facts but also undermine trust in experts and simplify complex histories by focusing on a narrow range of sources.
UNESCO calls for urgent action to implement its Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, emphasising fairness, transparency, and human rights. It urges governments to adopt these guidelines and tech companies to integrate them into AI development. UNESCO also stresses the importance of working with Holocaust survivors and historians to ensure accurate representation and educating young people to develop critical thinking and digital literacy skills.
Olga Loiek, a 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania student from Ukraine, experienced a disturbing twist after launching her YouTube channel last November. Her image was hijacked and manipulated through AI to create digital alter egos on Chinese social media platforms. These AI-generated avatars, such as ‘Natasha,’ posed as Russian women fluent in Chinese, promoting pro-Russian sentiments and selling products like Russian candies. These fake accounts amassed hundreds of thousands of followers in China, far surpassing Loiek’s own online presence.
Loiek’s experience highlights a broader trend of AI-generated personas on Chinese social media, presenting themselves as supportive of Russia and fluent in Chinese while selling various products. Experts reveal that these avatars often use clips of real women without their knowledge, aiming to appeal to single Chinese men. Some posts include disclaimers about AI involvement, but the followers and sales figures remain significant.
Why does it matter?
These events underscore the ethical and legal concerns surrounding AI’s misuse. As generative AI systems like ChatGPT become more widespread, issues related to misinformation, fake news, and copyright violations are growing.
In response, governments are starting to regulate the industry. China proposed guidelines to standardise AI by 2026, while the EU’s new AI Act imposes strict transparency requirements. However, experts like Xin Dai from Peking University warn that regulations struggle to keep pace with rapid AI advancements, raising concerns about the unchecked proliferation of AI-generated content worldwide.
