OpenAI unveiled major updates at its DevDay conference with the focus largely on making AI more accessible, efficient and affordable. Included were four innovations: Vision Fine-Tuning in the API, Model Distillation, Prompt Caching and the public beta of Realtime API. The approach underscores OpenAI’s effort to empower its developer ecosystem even as it continues to compete for end-users in the enterprise space. The Realtime API gives developers the option of building “nearly real-time” speech-to-speech app experiences, selecting from among six OpenAI voices. Vision Fine-Tuning for GPT-4o enables customization of the model’s visual understanding of images and text. Continue reading OpenAI Showcases Latest Updates for Voice, Picture and More

Cloudflare has released AI Audit, a free set of new tools designed to help websites analyze and control how their content is used by artificial intelligence models. Described as “one-click blocking” to prevent unauthorized AI scraping, Cloudflare says it will also make it easier to identify the content bots scan most, so they can wall it off and negotiate payment in exchange for access. Helping its clients toward a sustainable future, Cloudflare is also creating a marketplace for sites to negotiate fees based on AI audits that trace cyber footprints on server files. Continue reading Cloudflare Tool Can Prevent AI Bots from Scraping Websites

YouTube is introducing AI detection tools designed to allow people to learn when their face and/or voice are copied and used in third-party videos. As part of the effort, YouTube’s existing Content ID program that protects copyrighted music will expand to include more broad-based voice simulation detection technology. The new tools aim to protect “people from a variety of industries — from creators and actors to musicians and athletes,” according to the company. The Google-owned platform is also coming up with a way to address unauthorized use of its content for training AI models. Continue reading YouTube Adding Tools to Protect Against Unauthorized AI Use

Hanoi Police in conjunction with global anti-piracy group Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) has closed down what is being called the largest pirate streaming operation in the world. The takedown of the notorious Fmovies and other active piracy sites involved the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations unit and the U.S. Department of Justice International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) program working with Vietnamese authorities. In 2023, Fmovies was ranked by Similarweb as the world’s 11th most popular website in the TV, Movies & Streaming category. Continue reading Authorities Shutter Notorious Vietnamese Piracy Site Fmovies

Sahara AI, a company co-founded in 2023 by Sean Ren, an associate professor in computer science at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, has raised $43 million to pursue its goal of widely implementing a platform to ensure IP-owners are compensated in the age of generative AI. Ren, who launched the company with former Binance Labs Investment Director Tyler Zhou, says the funding will be used to expand its team and further develop a decentralized AI blockchain platform that recognizes and tracks copyrighted assets, ultimately establishing a system of credit and compensation for work that contributes to model training. Continue reading AI Startup Co-Founded by USC Professor Raises New Funding

Meta Platforms has expanded its licensing deal with Universal Music Group, which now covers users sharing songs from the UMG library across Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp and Horizon without fear of copyright violation. As part of a multiyear partnership, Meta and UMG will work together to address “unauthorized AI-generated content that could affect artists and songwriters.” This could encompass everything from users experimenting with voice copying or scraping songs for AI mashups to enterprise level crawling and theft for model training, and suggests Meta will be implementing a filtering system to detect infractions. Continue reading Meta, UMG Music Deal Emphasizes the Responsible Use of AI

The U.S. Copyright Office is warning of an urgent national need for protection against deepfakes. In the first installment of a multipart report on the adverse effects of artificial intelligence on copyright, the office recommends the immediate enactment of a law to combat AI-driven “digital replicas.” Acknowledging that copyright has always had a symbiotic relationship with technology, as well as AI’s tremendous potential, the report nonetheless decries the proliferation of AI-generated deepfakes, “from celebrities’ images endorsing products to politicians’ likenesses seeking to affect voter behavior.” Continue reading Copyright Office Calls for Federal Law Regulating Deepfakes

Amazon has made the Amazon Titan Image Generator v2 model generally available to AWS customers using Amazon Bedrock. The improved v2 model allows creation using reference images (called “image conditioning”) and also allows editing capabilities, background removal, iteration and customization, with a focus on maintaining brand style and subject consistency. The new version “can intelligently detect and segment multiple foreground objects,” according to AWS cloud developer Channy Yun. “With the Titan Image Generator v2, you can generate color-conditioned images based on a color palette [and] use the image conditioning feature to shape your creations.” Continue reading Amazon Rolls Out New Upgrades to Its Titan Image Generator

The Senate has introduced a bill that takes on tamping down deepfakes while also protecting creative content from use for AI model training. The Content Origin Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfaked Media Act, to be known as the COPIED Act, seeks to enact safeguards to protect journalists, actors, songwriters and other artists “against AI-driven theft,” while establishing new federal transparency guidelines for marking, authenticating and detecting AI-generated content. Emphasizing accountability, the bill stipulates that those found in violation will be subject to legal action. Continue reading COPIED Act Seeks to Protect from Deepfakes, Training Abuse

Suno, the AI text-to-music startup that along with AI music generator Udio is currently being sued by the Recording Industry Association of America, has launched its long-awaited mobile app. Likened to a pocket-sized virtual music studio, it is available for free (with ads) to iOS users in the U.S. Suno says a global rollout is coming soon, as is a mobile app for Android. “Whether you’re a shower singer or a charting artist, we break barriers between you and the song you dream of making. No instrument needed, just imagination,” touts Suno’s landing page on Apple’s App Store. Continue reading Suno’s AI Music Generator Is Now Available for iOS Devices

The U.S Copyright Office has finalized its rule change on streaming royalties, delivering a long-awaited clarification on who receives streaming royalties when songwriters exercise termination rights that allow authors and heirs to terminate copyright grants — including transfers or licenses — for their music. The rule clarifies who is entitled to collect mechanical royalties paid by streaming platforms after the termination has been invoked. Specifically, the final rule confirms “that the derivative works exception to termination rights under the Copyright Act does not apply to the statutory blanket mechanical license established under the Music Modernization Act.” Continue reading Music Industry Lauds Copyright Ruling in Streaming Dispute

DreamFlare has emerged from stealth to launch what is being billed as the first streaming platform for GenAI video. In addition to the consumer-facing subscription platform, the business model includes a sort of AI studio where creators can tap the expertise of professional storytellers to produce AI video using third-party tools like Runway, Sora and Midjourney. The company will feature two types of content: Flips, which are animated narratives with audio that viewers can also examine frame-by-frame, as with comic books, and Spins, described as “short movies” featuring branched narratives that provide interactive plot choices. Continue reading DreamFlare Launches AI Video Studio and Streaming Service

YouTube has released an eraser tool update that makes it easy to remove copyrighted music from videos without disturbing the remaining audio, like dialogue and sound effects. The Erase Song update uses an AI algorithm to detect and remove the offending material, making it more accurate than what had previously been available, as well as easier. Creators whose material has Content ID claims can now excise the objectionable material without having to manually edit and upload a new video, thereby avoiding potential restrictions on where the video is viewable or whether it can be monetized. Continue reading YouTube AI Song Eraser Easily Removes Copyright Material

Created by Humans, a company that aims to make it easy for creators to be compensated when their work is used for AI model training, has emerged from stealth with $5 million in funding. Positioning itself as “the AI rights licensing platform for creators,” the company was launched by Trip Adler, formerly the CEO of document sharing service and publishing platform Scribd. Noted author Walter Isaacson is an investor and creative advisor. In streamlining the licensing process, Created by Humans hopes to spare individuals and smaller companies from the proposition of engaging in costly litigation against LLM firms. Continue reading Created by Humans: AI Rights Licensing Platform for Creators

A group that includes the world’s three largest music labels — Sony, Universal and Warner — are backing federal lawsuits brought by the Recording Industry Association of America against AI companies Suno and Udio. Claiming “mass infringement,” the suits allege the startups scraped libraries of copyrighted songs to train models that power generative audio products allowing consumers to create music using text prompts. Suno is based in Massachusetts while Udio and its parent Uncharted are headquartered in New York, with the actions filed earlier this week in their respective states. Continue reading Recording Industry Sues AI Startups Citing Mass Infringement