Plus: Meta and Google offer millions to Hollywood studios for licensing, partnerships
| For May 23, 2024 |  |
| Here’s a look at today's AI briefing: - Docs suggest OpenAI did not intend to imitate Scarlett Johansson.
- Consultant behind Biden AI robocall faces $6M FCC fine.
- Meta and Google offer millions to Hollywood studios for licensing, partnerships.
- Truecaller lets users clone voice to answer calls.
- Survey: 12% of teachers say AI does more harm than good.
- M&A roundup.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | ChatGPT's "Sky" voice was not intentionally created to imitate Scarlett Johansson, according to documents and more shared with The Washington Post. OpenAI is accused of copying Johansson's voice likeness from the movie "Her." The actress's legal counsel contacted OpenAI for an explanation, leading OpenAI to pause using the Sky voice "out of respect" for Johansson. More: - Johansson says OpenAI CEO Sam Altman twice approached her to license her voice for ChatGPT, and she declined both times.
- However, documents, clips, and interviews show an unidentified actress was hired to create the Sky voice months before Altman contacted Johansson, and used her real voice with no alterations.
- That actress's agent confirmed that OpenAI did not mention Johansson or the movie "Her" during the process.
- Altman claims that Sky's voice "is not Scarlett Johansson's, and it was never intended to resemble hers."
- However, days before launching a new AI model this month, Altman posted the word "her" on X, suggesting he knew it resembled Johansson.
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| 2 | | A Democratic political consultant was indicted on felony counts of voter suppression for AI-generated robocalls of President Joe Biden. Steven Kramer admitted to orchestrating the robocall, which discouraged New Hampshire voters from the January primary. The Federal Communications Commission has also proposed a $6M fine on Kramer, its first involving GenAI technology. More: - Kramer said he sent out the call featuring an automated version of Biden's voice to thousands of Democrats two days before the primary, telling them “your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”
- New Hampshire's Attorney General announced the charges, which were filed in four state counties.
- Kramer faces up to seven years in prison for each of the 13 felony counts.
- He also faces 13 misdemeanor charges of impersonating a candidate.
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| 3 | | Meta and Google held talks with Hollywood studios to license content for their AI video-generation platforms, sources told Bloomberg. Both companies reportedly offered tens of millions of dollars to partner with studios, though the outcome of the talks is still unclear. More: - Netflix and Disney aren't willing to license their content but are interested in other collaborations.
- Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery is willing to license some programs for model training, but only from certain divisions, Bloomberg reported.
- Google's new video-generating AI, Veo, produces high-quality 1080p videos of over a minute in different styles.
- Meta announced its Emu AI video generator in November.
Zoom out: - The talks come shortly after OpenAI reportedly pitched its Sora AI video generator to Hollywood executives.
- Runway, an OpenAI competitor, said production, animation, and film studios have used its Gen-2 text-to-video creator for previsualization, storyboarding, B-roll, and visual effects.
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| 4 | | Smartphone app Truecaller now lets users create digital clones of their own voice to answer calls. Truecaller upgraded its AI Assistant with Microsoft's Azure AI Speech, allowing users to create a custom digital assistant that mimics their voice. More: - Truecaller is a caller ID app that records calls and blocks spam.
- In 2022, it introduced a paid AI assistant that screens and answers calls, using machine learning and speech-to-text technology to identify the caller and the call's purpose.
- Previously, users could only choose among preset voices, but now they can record their own.
- Users must record a consent sentence and a training script for Truecaller to capture their speaking style.
- When a call comes in, the assistant will introduce itself as the user's "digital" version.
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| 5 | | According to a Pew Research Center survey, 25% of public K-12 teachers believe using AI tools in education is more harmful than beneficial. High school teachers are more likely than elementary and middle school teachers to view AI tools in K-12 education negatively. 
What the numbers show: Around 35% of high school teachers, 24% of middle school teachers, and 19% of elementary school teachers believe AI tools do more harm than good. Many teachers, especially those in elementary schools, were unsure about AI, or saw it as having both benefits and harms equally. Teens’ experiences: In another Pew survey, nearly 20% of U.S. teens who know of ChatGPT have used it for schoolwork, with usage higher among older students. Among teens familiar with ChatGPT, 69% find it acceptable for researching new topics, 39% for solving math problems, and 20% for writing essays. | | | |
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a contributing editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters. She has written for publications including USA Today, the Arizona Business Gazette, and The Arizona Republic, where she received recognition with a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a First Amendment Award for collaborative reporting on state pension cost increases. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Beth Duckett | |
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