A bitter standoff over AI and copyright has returned to the House of Lords, as ministers and peers clash over how to protect creative workers while fostering technological innovation.
At the centre of the debate is the proposed Data (Use and Access) Bill, which was expected to pass smoothly but is now stuck in parliamentary limbo due to growing resistance.
The bill would allow AI firms to access copyrighted material unless rights holders opt out, a proposal that many artists and peers believe threatens the UK’s £124bn creative industry.
Nearly 300 Lords have called for AI developers to disclose what content they use and seek licences instead of relying on blanket access. Former film director Baroness Kidron described the policy as ‘state-sanctioned theft’ and warned it would sacrifice British talent to benefit large tech companies.
Supporters of the bill, like former Meta executive Sir Nick Clegg, argue that forcing AI firms to seek individual permissions would severely damage the UK’s AI sector. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology insists it will only consider changes if they are proven to benefit creators.
If no resolution is found, the bill risks being shelved entirely. That would also scrap unrelated proposals bundled into it, such as new NHS data-sharing rules and plans for a nationwide underground map.
Despite the bill’s wide scope, the fight over copyright remains its most divisive and emotionally charged feature.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The New York Times Company and Amazon have signed a multi-year licensing agreement that will allow Amazon to integrate editorial content from The New York Times, NYT Cooking, and The Athletic into a range of its AI-powered services, the companies announced Wednesday.
Under the deal, Amazon will use licensed content for real-time display in consumer-facing products such as Alexa, as well as for training its proprietary foundation models. The agreement marks an expansion of the firms’ existing partnership.
‘The agreement expands the companies’ existing relationship, and will deliver additional value to Amazon customers while bringing Times journalism to broader audiences,’ the companies said in a joint statement.
According to the announcement, the licensing terms include ‘real-time display of summaries and short excerpts of Times content within Amazon products and services’ alongside permission to use the content in AI model development. Amazon platforms will also feature direct links to full Times articles.
Both companies described the partnership as a reflection of a shared commitment to delivering global news and information across Amazon’s AI ecosystem. Financial details of the agreement were not made public.
The announcement comes amid growing industry debate about the role of journalistic material in training AI systems.
By entering a formal licensing arrangement, The New York Times positions itself as one of the first major media outlets to publicly align with a technology company for AI-related content use.
The companies have yet to name additional Amazon products that will feature Times content, and no timeline has been disclosed for the rollout of the new integrations.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
One year after launching AI-generated search results via AI Overviews, Google has unveiled AI Mode—a new feature it claims will redefine online search.
Functioning as an integrated chatbot, AI Mode allows users to ask complex questions, receive detailed responses, and continue with follow-up queries, eliminating the need to click through traditional links.
Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai described it as a ‘total reimagining of search,’ noting significant changes in user behaviour during early trials.
Analysts suggest the company is attempting to disrupt its own search business before rivals do, following internal concerns sparked by the rise of tools like ChatGPT.
With AI Mode, Google is increasingly shifting from directing users to websites toward delivering instant answers itself. Critics fear it could dramatically reduce web traffic for publishers who depend on Google for visibility and revenue.
While Google insists the open web will continue to grow, many publishers remain unconvinced. The News/Media Alliance condemned the move, calling it theft of content without fair return.
Links were the last mechanism providing meaningful traffic, said CEO Danielle Coffey, who urged the US Department of Justice to take action against what she described as monopolistic behaviour.
Meanwhile, Google is rapidly integrating AI across its ecosystem. Alongside AI Mode, it introduced developments in its Gemini model, with the aim of building a ‘world model’ capable of simulating and planning like the human brain.
Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis said the goal is to lay the foundations for an AI-native operating system.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
It feels like just yesterday that the internet was buzzing over the first renditions of OpenAI’s DALL·E tool, with millions competing to craft the funniest, weirdest prompts and sharing the results across social media. The sentiment was clear: the public was fascinated by the creative potential of this new technology.
But beneath the laughter and viral memes was a quieter, more uneasy question: what happens when AI not only generates quirky artwork, but begins to reshape our daily lives, both online and off? As it turns out, that process was already underway behind the scenes, and we were none the wiser.
AI in action: How the entertainment industry is using it today
Three years later, we have reached a point where AI’s influence seems to have passed the point of no return. The entertainment industry was among the first to embrace this technology, and starting with the 2025 Academy Awards, films that incorporate AI are now eligible for Oscar nominations.
That decision has been met with mixed reactions, to put it lightly. While some have praised the industry’s eagerness to explore new technological frontiers, others have claimed that AI greatly diminishes the human contribution to the art of filmmaking and therefore takes away the essence of the seventh art form.
The first wave of AI-enhanced storytelling
One recent example is the film The Brutalist, in which AI was used to refine Adrien Brody’s Hungarian dialogue to sound more authentic. Such a move that sparked both technical admiration and creative scepticism.
With AI now embedded in everything from voiceovers to entire digital actors, we are only beginning to confront what it truly means when creativity is no longer exclusively human.
Adrien Brody’s Hungarian dialogue in ‘The Brutalist’ was subject to generative AI to make it sound more authentic.
Screenshot / YouTube/ Oscars
Setting the stage: AI in the spotlight
The first major big-screen resurrection occurred in 1994’s The Crow, where Brandon Lee’s sudden passing mid-production forced the studio to rely on body doubles, digital effects, and existing footage to complete his scenes. However, it was not until 2016 that audiences witnessed the first fully digital revival.
In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Peter Cushing’s character was brought back to life using a combination of CGI, motion capture, and a facial stand-in. Although primarily reliant on traditional VFX, the project paved the way for future use of deepfakes and AI-assisted performance recreation across movies, TV shows, and video games.
Afterward, some speculated that studios tied to Peter Cushing’s legacy, such as Tyburn Film Productions, could pursue legal action against Disney for reviving his likeness without direct approval. While no lawsuit was filed, questions were raised about who owns a performer’s digital identity after death.
The digital Jedi: How AI helped recreate Luke Skywalker
Fate would have it that AI’s grand debut would take place in a galaxy far, far away, with the surprise appearance of Luke Skywalker in the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian (spoiler alert). The moment thrilled fans and marked a turning point for the franchise, but it was more than just fan service.
Here’s the twist: Mark Hamill did not record any new voice lines. Instead, actor Max Lloyd-Jones performed the physical role, while Hamill’s de-aged voice was recreated with the help of Respeecher, a Ukrainian company specialising in AI-driven speech synthesis.
Impressed by their work, Disney turned to Respeecher once again, this time to recreate James Earl Jones’s iconic Darth Vader voice for the Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries. Using archival recordings that Jones signed over for AI use, the system synthesised new dialogue that perfectly matched the intonation and timbre of his original trilogy performances.
Screenshot / YouTube / Star Wars
AI in moviemaking: Preserving legacy or crossing a line?
The use of AI to preserve and extend the voices of legendary actors has been met with a mix of admiration and unease. While many have praised the seamless execution and respect shown toward the legacy of both Hamill and Jones, others have raised concerns about consent, creative authenticity, and the long-term implications of allowing AI to perform in place of humans.
In both cases, the actors were directly involved or gave explicit approval, but these high-profile examples may be setting a precedent for a future where that level of control is not guaranteed.
A notable case that drew backlash was the planned use of a fully CGI-generated James Dean in the unreleased film Finding Jack, decades after his death. Critics and fellow actors have voiced strong opposition, arguing that bringing back a performer without their consent reduces them to a brand or asset, rather than honouring them as an artist.
AI in Hollywood: Actors made redundant?
What further heightened concerns among working actors was the launch of Promise, a new Hollywood studio built entirely around generative AI. Backed by wealthy investors, Promise is betting big on Muse, a GenAI tool designed to produce high-quality films and TV series at a fraction of the cost and time required for traditional Hollywood productions.
Filmmaking is a business, after all, and with production budgets ballooning year after year, AI-powered entertainment sounds like a dream come true for profit-driven studios.
Meta’s recent collaboration with Blumhouse Productions on MovieGen only adds fuel to the fire, signalling that major players are eager to explore a future where storytelling may be driven as much by algorithms as by authentic artistry.
AI in gaming: Automation or artistic collapse?
Speaking of entertainment businesses, we cannot ignore the world’s most popular entertainment medium: gaming. While the pandemic triggered a massive boom in game development and player engagement, the momentum was short-lived.
As profits began to slump in the years that followed, the industry was hit by a wave of layoffs, prompting widespread internal restructuring and forcing publishers to rethink their business models entirely. In hopes of cost-cutting, AAA companies had their eye on AI as their one saving grace.
Nvidia developing AI chips, along with Ubisoft and EA investing in AI and machine learning, have sent clear signals to the industry: automation is no longer just a backend tool, it is a front-facing strategy.
With AI-assisted NPC behaviour and AI voice acting, game development is shifting toward faster, cheaper, and potentially less human-driven production. In response, game developers have become concerned about their future in the industry, and actors are less inclined to sign off their rights for future projects.
AI voice acting in video games
In an attempt to compete with wealthier studios, even indie developers have turned to GenAI to replicate the voices of celebrity voice actors. Tools like ElevenLabs and Altered Studio offer a seemingly straightforward way to get high-quality talent, but if only it were that simple.
Copyright laws and concerns over authenticity remain two of the strongest barriers to the widespread adoption of AI-generated voices. especially as many consumers still view the technology as a crutch rather than a creative tool for game developers.
The legal landscape around AI-generated voices remains murky. In many places, the rights to a person’s voice, or its synthetic clone, are poorly defined, creating loopholes developers can exploit.
AI voice cloning challenges legal boundaries in gaming
The legal ambiguity has fuelled a backlash from voice actors, who argue that their performances are being mimicked without consent or pay. SAG-AFTRA and others began pushing for tighter legal protections in 2023.
A notable flashpoint came in 2025, when Epic Games faced criticism for using an AI-generated Darth Vader voice in Fortnite. SAG-AFTRA filed a formal complaint, citing licensing concerns and a lack of actor involvement.
Not all uses have been controversial. CD Projekt Red recreated the voice of the late Miłogost Reczek in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, with his family’s blessing, thus setting a respectful precedent for the ethical use of AI.
How AI is changing music production and artist Identity
AI is rapidly reshaping music production, with a recent survey showing that nearly 25% of producers are already integrating AI tools into their creative workflows. This shift reflects a growing trend in how technology is influencing composition, mixing, and even vocal performance.
Artists like Imogen Heap are embracing the change with projects like Mogen, an AI version of herself that can create music and interact with fans, blurring the line between human creativity and digital innovation.
Major labels are also experimenting: Universal Music has recently used AI to reimagine Brenda Lee’s 1958 classic in Spanish, preserving the spirit of the original while expanding its cultural reach.
AI and the future of entertainment
As AI becomes more embedded in entertainment, the line between innovation and exploitation grows thinner. What once felt like science fiction is now reshaping the way stories are told, and who gets to tell them.
Whether AI becomes a tool for creative expansion or a threat to human artistry will depend on how the industry and audiences choose to engage with it in the years ahead. As in any business, consumers vote with their wallets, and only time will tell whether AI and authenticity can truly go hand-in-hand.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The Arab Centre for Artificial Intelligence (ACAI) and India’s Universal AI University (UAI) have partnered through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate the advancement of AI across Qatar and the broader region. That collaboration aims to enhance education, research, and innovation in AI and emerging technologies.
Together, ACAI and UAI plan to establish a specialised AI research centre and develop advanced training programs to cultivate local expertise. They will also launch various online and short-term educational courses designed to address the growing demand for skilled AI professionals in Qatar’s job market, ensuring that the workforce is well-prepared for future technological developments.
Looking forward, the partnership envisions creating a dedicated AI-focused university campus. The initiative aligns with Qatar’s vision to transition into a knowledge-based economy by fostering innovation and offering academic programs in AI, engineering, business administration, environmental sustainability, and other emerging technologies.
The MoU is valid for ten years and includes provisions for dispute resolution, intellectual property rights management, and annual reviews to ensure tangible and sustainable outcomes. Further detailed implementation agreements are expected to formalise the partnership’s operational aspects.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the country’s national funding body for science and research, has reported a staggering 5.4 million cyber attacks this year — a sixfold increase compared to the previous year.
According to data obtained through freedom of information requests, the majority of these threats were phishing attempts, with 236,400 designed to trick employees into revealing sensitive data. A further 11,200 were malware-based attacks, while the rest were identified as spam or malicious emails.
The scale of these incidents highlights the growing threat faced by both public and private sector institutions. Experts believe the rise of AI has enabled cybercriminals to launch more frequent and sophisticated attacks.
Rick Boyce, chief for technology at AND Digital, warned that the emergence of AI has introduced threats ‘at a pace we’ve never seen before’, calling for a move beyond traditional defences to stay ahead of evolving risks.
UKRI, which is sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, manages an annual budget of £8 billion, much of it invested in cutting-edge research.
A budget like this makes it an attractive target for cybercriminals and state-sponsored actors alike, particularly those looking to steal intellectual property or sabotage infrastructure. Security experts suggest the scale and nature of the attacks point to involvement from hostile nation states, with Russia a likely culprit.
Though UKRI cautioned that differing reporting periods may affect the accuracy of year-on-year comparisons, there is little doubt about the severity of the threat.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has previously warned of Russia’s Unit 29155 targeting British government bodies and infrastructure for espionage and disruption.
With other notorious groups such as Fancy Bear and Sandworm also active, the cybersecurity landscape is becoming increasingly fraught.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
A Jersey illustrator has spoken out against the growing use of AI-generated images, calling the trend ‘heartbreaking’ for artists who fear losing their livelihoods to technology.
Abi Overland, known for her intricate hand-drawn illustrations, said it was deeply concerning to see AI-created visuals being shared online without acknowledging their impact on human creators.
She warned that AI systems often rely on artists’ existing work for training, raising serious questions about copyright and fairness.
Overland stressed that these images are not simply a product of new tools but of years of human experience and emotion, something AI cannot replicate. She believes the increasing normalisation of AI content is dangerous and could discourage aspiring artists from entering the field.
Fellow Jersey illustrator Jamie Willow echoed the concern, saying many local companies are already replacing human work with AI outputs, undermining the value of art created with genuine emotional connection and moral integrity.
However, not everyone sees AI as a threat. Sebastian Lawson of Digital Jersey argued that artists could instead use AI to enhance their creativity rather than replace it. He insisted that human creators would always have an edge thanks to their unique insight and ability to convey meaning through their work.
The debate comes as the House of Lords recently blocked the UK government’s data bill for a second time, demanding stronger protections for artists and musicians against AI misuse.
Meanwhile, government officials have said they will not consider any copyright changes unless they are sure such moves would benefit creators as well as tech companies.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The use of an AI-generated Darth Vader voice in Fortnite has triggered a legal dispute between SAG-AFTRA and Epic Games.
According to GamesIndustry.biz, the actors’ union filed an unfair labor practice complaint, claiming it was not informed or consulted about the decision to use an artificial voice model in the game.
In Fortnite’s Galactic Battle season, players who defeat Darth Vader in Battle Royale can recruit him, triggering limited voice interactions powered by conversational AI.
The voice used stems from a licensing agreement with the estate of James Earl Jones, who retired in 2022 and granted rights for AI use of his iconic performance.
While Epic Games has confirmed it had legal permission to use Jones’ voice, SAG-AFTRA alleges the company bypassed union protocols by not informing them or offering the role to a human actor.
The outcome of this dispute could have broader implications for how AI voices are integrated into video games and media going forward, particularly regarding labor rights and union oversight.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplochatbot!
The UK government has suffered a second defeat in the House of Lords over its Data (Use and Access) Bill, as peers once again backed a copyright-focused amendment aimed at protecting artists from AI content scraping.
Baroness Kidron, a filmmaker and digital rights advocate, led the charge, accusing ministers of listening to the ‘sweet whisperings of Silicon Valley’ and allowing tech firms to ‘redefine theft’ by exploiting copyrighted material without permission.
Her amendment would force AI companies to disclose their training data sources and obtain consent from rights holders.
The government had previously rejected this amendment, arguing it would lead to ‘piecemeal’ legislation and pre-empt ongoing consultations.
But Kidron’s position was strongly supported across party lines, with peers calling the current AI practices ‘burglary’ and warning of catastrophic damage to the UK’s creative sector.
High-profile artists like Sir Elton John, Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, and Kate Bush have condemned the government’s stance, with Sir Elton branding ministers ‘losers’ and accusing them of enabling theft.
Peers from Labour, the Lib Dems, the Conservatives, and the crossbenches united to defend UK copyright law, calling the government’s actions a betrayal of the country’s leadership in intellectual property rights.
Labour’s Lord Brennan warned against a ‘double standard’ for AI firms, while Lord Berkeley insisted immediate action was needed to prevent long-term harm.
Technology Minister Baroness Jones countered that no country has resolved the AI-copyright dilemma and warned that the amendment would only create more regulatory confusion.
Nonetheless, peers voted overwhelmingly in favour of Kidron’s proposal—287 to 118—sending the bill back to the Commons with a strengthened demand for transparency and copyright safeguards.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The lawsuit, filed in October 2023 by music publishers Universal Music Group, Concord, and ABKCO, accuses Anthropic of unlawfully using lyrics from over 500 songs to train its chatbot. The publishers argue that Claude can produce copyrighted material when prompted, such as lyrics from Don McLean’s American Pie.
During a court hearing on Tuesday in California, the publishers’ attorney claimed that an Anthropic data scientist cited a nonexistent academic article from The American Statistician journal to support the argument that Claude rarely outputs copyrighted lyrics.
One of the article’s alleged authors later confirmed the paper was a ‘complete fabrication.’ The judge is now requiring Anthropic to formally address the incident in court.
The company, founded in 2021, is backed by major investors including Amazon, Google, and Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced crypto executive convicted of fraud in 2023.
The case marks a significant test of how AI companies handle copyrighted content, and how courts respond when AI-generated material is used in legal proceedings.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
