During Thanksgiving break 2013, when this blog was still new, I wrote a post in response to the techno-exceptionalism expressed by then Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and co-author Jared Cohen. Drawing parallels to the mythology of the Puritan adventure to North America, I found fault—as I still do—with the blind faith we were asked to place in the leadership of ...

In my book, published in 2020, I speculated about a biopic made with an AI-generated likeness of Carrie Fisher; and this week, Variety reports that a motion picture about Edith Piaf is now in development that will use AI-generated likenesses of the famed torch singer. So, now that the hypothetical is reality, what are the considerations beyond the obvious loss ...

As reported by Insider last week, the Andreessen Horowitz VC firm a16z, complains that potential copyright liability for AI developers could harm the interest of their investors. “Imposing the cost of actual or potential copyright liability on the creators of AI models will either kill or significantly hamper their development,” they state, as quoted by Kali Hays. Sympathy for the ...

A lot of world-shaking events have occurred since 2018, when the CASE Act was introduced for the purpose of creating a small-claim copyright alternative, now known as the Copyright Claims Board (CCB). After a pandemic, an attempted coup d’ etat, and other jaw-dropping moments, it’s easy to forget all the ululating noise produced by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for ...

On October 30, Judge Orrick of the Northern District of California largely granted the AI companies’ motions to dismiss the class-action complaints filed by Sarah Andersen, Karla Ortiz, and Kelly McKernan on behalf of all visual artists whose works have been used without permission for the purpose of “training” generative AI models. Several complaints were dismissed with leave to amend, ...