Google has announced it will stop linking to New Zealand news articles and end agreements with local news outlets if a proposed law to ensure fair revenue sharing moves forward. The New Zealand government is reviewing legislation aimed at making tech companies like Google pay for news content featured on their platforms, following a similar model introduced in Australia.
Google New Zealand’s Country Director, Caroline Rainsford, expressed concerns about the potential law, saying it would require major changes to Google’s services. She highlighted that Google could be forced to stop showing news content on platforms like Google Search and Google News in the country if the law passes.
The company also warned the legislation could negatively affect smaller publishers and create financial uncertainty. Despite these concerns, the New Zealand government remains in consultation, with Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith considering feedback before any final decision.
While the minority coalition partner ACT opposes the law, it is expected to receive enough cross-party support to pass. Australia has already implemented a similar law, which has been deemed successful by a government review.
Sir Paul McCartney has announced his return to the stage with the ‘Got Back’ tour, featuring a highly anticipated performance of the last Beatles song, Now and Then. The song, which includes vocals from the late John Lennon, was completed with the help of AI technology and marks a poignant moment in Beatles history.
Now and Then was created using Lennon’s vocals from an old cassette tape, recovered and refined using AI. McCartney and fellow Beatle Ringo Starr worked together on the project, adding guitar parts from the late George Harrison. The song, originally left unfinished in 1977, has now been brought to life, with McCartney singing alongside Lennon’s voice.
The tour will kick off in Montevideo, Uruguay, before moving through South America and Europe, with two dates at Manchester’s Co-op Live and two final shows at London’s O2 Arena in December. McCartney, who last played in the UK at Glastonbury four years ago, has expressed excitement about returning to his home country to end the tour.
Despite some complaints from Liverpool fans over the absence of a hometown gig, McCartney remains enthusiastic about his UK shows. He described the upcoming performances as a ‘special feeling’ and looks forward to closing out the year with a celebration on home soil.
Cloudflare is launching a marketplace that will let websites charge AI companies for scraping their content, aiming to give smaller publishers more control over how AI models use their data. Large AI models scrape thousands of websites to train their systems, often without compensating the content creators, which could threaten the business models of many smaller websites. The marketplace, launching next year, will allow website owners to negotiate deals with AI model providers, charging them based on how often they scrape the site or by setting their terms.
Cloudflare’s launch of AI Audit is a big step for website owners to gain better control over AI bot activity on their sites. Providing detailed analytics on which AI bots access their content empowers site owners to make informed decisions about managing bot traffic. The ability to block specific bots while allowing others can help mitigate issues related to unwanted scraping, which can negatively impact performance and increase operational costs. This tool could be handy for businesses and content creators who rely on their online presence and want to safeguard their resources.
Cloudflare’s CEO, Matthew Prince, believes this marketplace will create a more sustainable system for publishers and AI companies. While some AI firms may resist paying for currently free content, Prince argues that compensating creators is crucial for ensuring the continued production of quality content. The initiative could help balance the relationship between AI companies and content creators, allowing even small publishers to profit from their data in the AI age.
Meta Platforms is preparing to introduce a new audio feature for its AI chatbot, which will allow users to select voices from five celebrities, including Judi Dench and John Cena. As part of its efforts to enhance user engagement, Meta will offer the voice options across its platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The announcement is expected at Meta’s annual Connect conference, where the company is also set to unveil augmented-reality glasses and provide updates on its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. These developments reflect Meta’s push to integrate AI more deeply into everyday interactions through its various products.
Celebrity voices are set to roll out this week in the US and other English-speaking markets. Meta hopes that this new feature will appeal to users seeking a more personalised experience with its AI chatbot, positioning itself in competition with AI giants like Google and OpenAI.
As part of its broader AI strategy, Meta has shifted focus towards integrating celebrity voices after earlier text-based characters saw limited success. The company is committed to making its chatbot a core feature across its platforms, striving to stay ahead in the competitive AI landscape.
A German court has ruled that Amazon is using Nokia’s patented video technologies without obtaining a proper licence, according to a statement from Nokia. The decision, made by the Munich Regional Court, found that Amazon’s streaming devices are illegally utilising Nokia’s patented video-related technologies, which the Finnish company holds rights to.
Nokia’s Chief Licensing Officer, Arvin Patel, expressed satisfaction with the ruling, stating that Amazon has been selling these devices without the necessary licences in place. The ruling highlights ongoing disputes between tech giants over intellectual property.
In response to Nokia’s legal actions, Amazon filed a lawsuit in July in a Delaware federal court, accusing the company from Finland of infringing on a dozen Amazon patents related to cloud-computing technology.
This legal battle is part of a broader pattern of disputes between major tech companies, as patent rights continue to play a critical role in the development of new technologies and services.
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have sued Pocketpair Inc., the maker of ‘Palworld’, for patent infringement. The lawsuit was filed in the Tokyo District Court and aims to halt the game’s distribution, claiming multiple patent violations. Nintendo and Pokémon Co are seeking damages from the Tokyo-based game studio.
‘Palworld’ gained attention as a survival adventure game where players capture and train creatures using guns, a concept many fans dubbed ‘Pokémon with guns’. Pocketpair expressed surprise at the lawsuit, stating they had not yet been informed of the specific patents in question.
The company confirmed it would begin legal proceedings and investigations in response to the claims. It expressed frustration over being forced to divert time from game development due to the legal battle.
Earlier this year, The Pokémon Company had already warned it would pursue any intellectual property violations. Meanwhile, Pocketpair had partnered with Sony in July to promote the global licensing of ‘Palworld’.
As the EU finalises its groundbreaking AI Act, major technology firms are lobbying for lenient regulations to minimise the risk of multi-billion dollar fines. The AI Act, agreed upon in May, is the world’s first comprehensive legislation governing AI. However, the details on how general-purpose AI systems like ChatGPT will be regulated remain unclear. The EU has opened the process to companies, academics, and other stakeholders to help draft the accompanying codes of practice, receiving a surge of interest with nearly 1,000 applications.
A key issue at stake is how AI companies, including OpenAI and Stability AI, use copyrighted content to train their models. While the AI Act mandates companies to disclose summaries of the data they use, businesses are divided over how much detail to include, with some advocating for protecting trade secrets. In contrast, others demand transparency from content creators. Major players like Google and Amazon have expressed their commitment to the process, but there are growing concerns about transparency, with some accusing tech giants of trying to avoid scrutiny.
The debate over transparency and copyright has sparked a broader discussion on the balance between regulation and innovation. Critics argue that the EU’s focus on regulation could stifle technological advancements, while others stress the importance of oversight in preventing abuse. Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi recently urged the EU to improve its industrial policy to compete with China and the US, emphasising the need for swift decision-making and significant investment in the tech sector.
The finalised code of practice, expected next year, will not be legally binding but will serve as a guideline for compliance. Companies will have until August 2025 to meet the new standards, with non-profits and startups also playing a role in drafting. Some fear that big tech firms could weaken essential transparency measures, underscoring the ongoing tension between innovation and regulation in the digital era.
Runway, a generative AI startup, has announced a significant partnership with Lionsgate, the studio responsible for popular franchises such as John Wick and Twilight. This collaboration will enable Lionsgate’s creative teams, including filmmakers and directors, to utilise Runway’s AI video-generating models. These models have been trained on the studio’s film catalogue and will be used to enhance their creative work. Michael Burns, vice chair of Lionsgate, emphasised the potential for this partnership to support creative talent.
Runway is considering new opportunities, including licensing its AI models to individual creators, allowing them to create and train custom models. This partnership represents the first public collaboration between a generative AI startup and a major Hollywood studio. Although Disney and Paramount have reportedly been discussing similar partnerships with AI providers, no official agreements have been reached yet.
This deal comes at a time of increased attention on AI in the entertainment industry, due to California’s new laws that regulate the use of AI digital replicas in film and television. Runway is also currently dealing with legal challenges regarding the alleged use of copyrighted works to train its models without permission.
A group of Democratic senators, led by Amy Klobuchar, has called on the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate whether AI tools that summarise online content are anti-competitive. The concern is that AI-generated summaries keep users on platforms like Google and Meta, preventing traffic from reaching the original content creators, which can result in lost advertising revenue for those creators.
The senators argue that platforms profit from using third-party content to generate AI summaries, while publishers are left with fewer opportunities to monetise their work. Content creators are often forced to choose between having their work summarised by AI tools or opting out entirely from being indexed by search engines, risking significant drops in traffic.
There is also a concern that AI features can misappropriate third-party content, passing it off as new material. The senators believe that the dominance of major online platforms is creating an unfair market for advertising revenue, as these companies control how content is monetised and limit the potential for original creators to benefit.
The letter calls for regulators to examine whether these practices violate antitrust laws. The FTC and DOJ will need to determine if the behaviour constitutes exclusionary conduct or unfair competition. The push from legislators could also lead to new laws if current regulations are deemed insufficient.
Elon Musk has urged California to pass the AI bill requiring tech companies to conduct safety testing on their AI models. Musk, who owns Tesla and the social media platform X, has long advocated for AI regulation, likening it to rules for any technology that could pose risks to the public. He specifically called for the passage of California’s SB 1047 bill to address these concerns.
This is a tough call and will make some people upset, but, all things considered, I think California should probably pass the SB 1047 AI safety bill.
For over 20 years, I have been an advocate for AI regulation, just as we regulate any product/technology that is a potential risk…
California lawmakers have been busy with AI legislation, attempting to introduce 65 AI-related bills this season. These bills cover a range of issues, including ensuring algorithmic fairness and protecting intellectual property from AI exploitation. However, many of these bills have yet to advance.
The push for AI regulation comes when countries representing a broader portion of the global population are holding elections, raising concerns about the potential impact of AI-generated content on political processes.
