A Fenland videographer says the rise of AI has forced him to close his business. David Johnson, who runs DMJ-Imagery in Chatteris, will wind up operations in April after client demand collapsed.
He believes companies are turning to AI tools for projects once requiring human filmmakers and editors. Work such as promotional videos, adverts, and scripting has increasingly been replaced by automated content generation.
Johnson said his workload ‘plummeted’ over the past year despite surviving the pandemic. He described AI-made work as lacking ‘passion or emotion’, arguing that human creativity remains an essential component to storytelling.
Despite this, the UK government says AI has vast economic potential, industry groups urge fairer protections for creatives. They argue that existing copyright laws do not adequately safeguard work used to train AI models.
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Adobe has launched a new enterprise service allowing firms to build custom AI models. The platform, called Adobe AI Foundry, lets companies train generative AI on their branding and intellectual property.
Based on Adobe’s Firefly models, the service can produce text, images, video, and 3D content. Pricing depends on usage, offering greater flexibility than Adobe’s traditional subscription model.
Adobe’s Firefly technology, first introduced in 2023, has already helped clients create over 25 billion assets. Foundry’s tailored models are expected to speed up campaign production while maintaining consistent brand identity across markets.
Hannah Elsakr, Adobe’s vice president for generative AI ventures, said the tools aim to enhance, not replace, human creativity. She emphasised that Adobe’s mission remains centred on supporting artists and marketers in telling powerful stories through technology.
The company believes its ethical approach to AI training and licensing could set a standard for enterprise-grade creative tools. Analysts say it also positions Adobe strongly against rivals offering generic AI solutions.
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In China, the use of generative AI has expanded unprecedentedly, reaching 515 million users in the first half of 2025.
The figure, released by the China Internet Network Information Centre, shows more than double the number recorded in December and represents an adoption rate of 36.5 per cent.
Such growth is driven by strong digital infrastructure and the state’s determination to make AI a central tool of national development.
The country’s ‘AI Plus’ strategy aims to integrate AI across all sectors of society and the economy. The majority of users rely on domestic platforms such as DeepSeek, Alibaba Cloud’s Qwen and ByteDance’s Doubao, as access to leading Western models remains restricted.
Young and well-educated citizens dominate the user base, underlining the government’s success in promoting AI literacy among key demographics.
Microsoft’s recent research confirms that China has the world’s largest AI market, surpassing the US in total users. While the US adoption has remained steady, China’s domestic ecosystem continues to accelerate, fuelled by policy support and public enthusiasm for generative tools.
China also leads the world in AI-related intellectual property, with over 1.5 million patent applications accounting for nearly 39 per cent of the global total.
The rapid adoption of home-grown AI technologies reflects a strategic drive for technological self-reliance and positions China at the forefront of global digital transformation.
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Wikipedia’s human traffic has fallen by 8% over the past year, a decline the Wikimedia Foundation attributes to changing information habits driven by AI and social media.
The foundation’s Marshall Miller explained that updates to Wikipedia’s bot detection system revealed much of the earlier traffic surge came from undetected bots, revealing a sharper drop in genuine visits.
Miller pointed to the growing use of AI-generated search summaries and the rise of short-form video as key factors. Search engines now provide direct answers using generative AI instead of linking to external sources, while younger users increasingly turn to social video platforms rather than traditional websites.
Although Wikipedia’s knowledge continues to feed AI models, fewer people are reaching the original source.
The foundation warns that the shift poses risks to Wikipedia’s volunteer-driven ecosystem and donation-based model. With fewer visitors, fewer contributors may update content and fewer donors may provide financial support.
Miller urged AI companies and search engines to direct users back to the encyclopedia, ensuring both transparency and sustainability.
Wikipedia is responding by developing a new framework for content attribution and expanding efforts to reach new readers. The foundation also encourages users to support human-curated knowledge by citing original sources and recognising the people behind the information that powers AI systems.
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Spotify partners with major labels on artist-first AI tools, putting consent and copyright at the centre of product design. The plan aims to align new features with transparent labelling and fair compensation while addressing concerns about generative music flooding platforms.
The collaboration with Sony, Universal, Warner, and Merlin will give artists control over participation in AI experiences and how their catalogues are used. Spotify says it will prioritise consent, clearer attribution, and rights management as it builds new tools.
Early direction points to expanded labelling via DDEX, stricter controls against mass AI uploads, and protections against search and recommendation manipulation. Spotify’s AI DJ and prompt-based playlists hint at how engagement features could evolve without sidelining creators.
Future products are expected to let artists opt in, monitor usage, and manage when their music feeds AI-generated works. Rights holders and distributors would gain better tracking and payment flows as transparency improves across the ecosystem.
Industry observers say the tie-up could set a benchmark for responsible AI in music if enforcement matches ambition. By moving in step with labels, Spotify is pitching a path where innovation and artist advocacy reinforce rather than undermine each other.
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OpenAI signalled a break with Australia’s tech lobby on copyright, with global affairs chief Chris Lehane telling SXSW Sydney the company’s models are ‘going to be in Australia, one way or the other’, regardless of reforms or data-mining exemptions.
Lehane framed two global approaches: US-style fair use that enables ‘frontier’ AI, versus a tighter, historical copyright that narrows scope, saying OpenAI will work under either regime. Asked if Australia risked losing datacentres without loser laws, he replied ‘No’.
Pressed on launching and monetising Sora 2 before copyright issues are settled, Lehane argued innovation precedes adaptation and said OpenAI aims to ‘benefit everyone’. The company paused videos featuring Martin Luther King Jr.’s likeness after family complaints.
Lehane described the US-China AI rivalry as a ‘very real competition’ over values, predicting that one ecosystem will become the default. He said US-led frontier models would reflect democratic norms, while China’s would ‘probably’ align with autocratic ones.
To sustain a ‘democratic lead’, Lehane said allies must add gigawatt-scale power capacity each week to build AI infrastructure. He called Australia uniquely positioned, citing high AI usage, a 30,000-strong developer base, fibre links to Asia, Five Eyes membership, and fast-growing renewables.
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A Quebec court has fined Jean Laprade C$5,000 (US$3,562) for submitting AI-generated content as part of his legal defence. Justice Luc Morin described the move as ‘highly reprehensible,’ warning that it could undermine the integrity of the judicial system.
The case concerned a dispute over a contract for three helicopters and an airplane in Guinea, where a clerical error awarded Laprade a more valuable aircraft than agreed. He resisted attempts by aviation companies to recover it, and a 2021 Paris arbitration ruling ordered him to pay C$2.7 million.
Laprade submitted fabricated AI-generated materials, including non-existent legal citations and inconsistent conclusions, in an attempt to strengthen his defence.
The judge emphasised that AI-generated information must be carefully controlled by humans, and the filing of legal documents remains a solemn responsibility. Morin acknowledged the growing influence of AI in courts but stressed the dangers of misuse.
While noting Laprade’s self-representation, the judge condemned his use of ‘hallucinated’ AI evidence and warned of future challenges from AI in courts.
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A new Oxford University Press (OUP) report has found that most teenagers are using AI for schoolwork but many cannot tell when information is false. Over 2,000 students aged 13 to 18 took part, with many finding it hard to verify AI content.
Around eight in ten pupils admitted using AI for homework or revision, often treating it as a digital tutor. However, many are simply copying material without being able to check its accuracy.
Despite concerns about misinformation, most pupils view AI positively. Nine in ten said they had benefited from using it, particularly in improving creative writing, problem-solving and critical thinking.
To support schools, OUP has launched an AI and Education Hub to help teachers develop confidence with the technology, while the Department for Education has released guidance on using AI safely in classrooms.
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Jim Lee rejects generative AI for DC storytelling, pledging no AI writing, art, or audio under his leadership. He framed AI alongside other overhyped threats, arguing that predictions falter while human craft endures. DC, he said, will keep its focus on creator-led work.
Lee rooted the stance in the value of imperfection and intent. Smudges, rough lines, and hesitation signal authorship, not flaws. Fans, he argued, sense authenticity and recoil from outputs that feel synthetic or aggregated.
Concerns ranged from shrinking attention spans to characters nearing the public domain. The response, Lee said, is better storytelling and world-building. Owning a character differs from understanding one, and DC’s universe supplies the meaning that endures.
Policy meets practice in DCs recent moves against suspected AI art. In 2024, variant covers were pulled after high-profile allegations of AI-generated content. The episode illustrated a willingness to enforce standards rather than just announce them.
Lee positioned 2035 and DC’s centenary as a waypoint, not a finish line. Creative evolution remains essential, but without yielding authorship to algorithms. The pledge: human-made stories, guided by editors and artists, for the next century of DC.
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Asia’s creative future takes centre stage at Singapore’s All That Matters, a September forum for sports, tech, marketing, gaming, and music. AI dominated the music track, spanning creation, distribution, and copyright. Session notes signal rapid structural change across the industry.
The web is shifting again as AI reshapes search and discovery. AI-first browsers and assistants challenge incumbents, while Google’s Gemini and Microsoft’s Copilot race on integration. Early builds feel rough, yet momentum points to a new media discovery order.
Consumption defined the last 25 years, moving from CDs to MP3s, piracy, streaming, and even vinyl’s comeback. Creation looks set to define the next decade as generative tools become ubiquitous. Betting against that shift may be comfortable, yet market forces indicate it is inevitable.
Music generators like Suno are advancing fast amid lawsuits and talks with rights holders. Expected label licensing will widen training data and scale models. Outputs should grow more realistic and, crucially, more emotionally engaging.
Simpler interfaces will accelerate adoption. The prevailing design thesis is ‘less UI’: creators state intent and the system orchestrates cloud tools. Some services already turn a hummed idea into an arranged track, foreshadowing release-ready music from plain descriptions.
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