The week's developments on the intersection of AI and creative content | 16.04.24

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This week a new bill passed mandating AI companies to reveal their use of copyrighted art in training data, winning strong support from artists. Meanwhile, the Runway AI Film Festival is set press-on in Los Angeles and New York despite industry concerns… is post-strike Hollywood ready for an AI film fest?

In the tech world, DaVinci Resolve 19’s new update launched 100+ features including an AI tool suite set to enhance both audio and visual post-production. Plus Udio, an AI music tool from former DeepMind researchers is the new kid on the text-to-music block…  is Suno about to be dethroned?

We cover these stories, plus TCL’s awkward AI movie release, Adobe’s bid for YOUR videos to train their AI (don’t worry they’ll pay), and an artist’s take on how AI can ‘free sculpture from the box of the museum’...

— Charlie and the Research and Intelligence Team

P.S Limited availability for our CogX Transatlantic Accelerator at $795 (RRP $23,621). If you are or know a UK startup, they can apply now for over $20k worth of support to attend, exhibit, and network at the CogX Festival in LA on 7th May here.

Cinema and Industry

🏛️ New bill mandates AI companies to disclose the use of copyrighted art in their model training data, tackling legal and ethical issues while imposing financial penalties for non-disclosure. This legislation has garnered significant support from the creative industry.

 🎬 Is post-strike Hollywood ready for an AI film festival? Despite recent contentious strikes over AI usage in filmmaking, the Runway AI Film Festival is proceeding in Los Angeles and New York, drawing interest for its potential to showcase AI's evolving role in the industry.

📽️ AI made these films sharper, but critics say it ruined them. Used increasingly in Ultra HD Blu-ray restorations, AI enhancements are criticised for overly sanitising the originals, making them appear unnatural. Despite potential improvements in picture quality, scepticism persists.

💰 Adobe will pay you to train their AI Firefly on your videos, with the aim of avoiding legal issues related to copyright claims. You can earn $2.60-$7.25 per minute for videos depicting everyday actions and emotions — if you’re willing to contribute to the ‘machine’.

🎭 This is how SAG-AFTRA’s AI roadmap works in practice: The 2023 agreement requires consent and compensation for using actors' likenesses in digital replicas and mandates union negotiations on AI use, setting a precedent for labour negotiations and AI integration in the entertainment industry.

Arts and Entertainment

🎵 Udio is the new AI music tool everyone’s obsessed with: Launched by former DeepMind researchers, users can generate fully mastered tracks in about 40 seconds by specifying genre, lyrics, or artist inspirations, and refine their pieces with advanced editing features. 

 🎶 Will 'ChatGPT for music' hurt musicians? Suno AI, a text-to-audio tool, has raised concerns among celebrities about AI affecting royalties and creativity. Despite safeguards like watermarks on AI tracks, industry impact and legal challenges remain major concerns.

 🗿 "AI frees sculpture from the box of the museum," says artist Josèfa Ntjam, who uses AI to push the boundaries of traditional sculpture. Her recent works blend African mythologies with sci-fi and the natural world to explore themes from Afrofuturism to colonial history. 

🎥 TCL's first original movie is an AI-generated love story titled "Next Stop Paris” has drawn early criticism for its lacklustre visual and emotional delivery. The film used human writers and actors for motion capture and voice performances but heavily relied on gen-AI.

🖌️ DaVinci Resolve 19 introduces advanced AI tools including IntelliTrack for tracking and stabilisation and ColorSlice for detailed colour grading. The 100+ feature update enhances audio and visual post-production with improvements in Fairlight audio panning, multi-poly rotoscoping, and expanded USD tools.

In case you missed it

This AI-generated entry won the Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon 50th Anniversary animated film competition for the song ‘Any Colour you Like’ checkout the winning film here:

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🚀 Limited availability for our CogX Transatlantic Accelerator at $795 (RRP $23,621). If you are or know a UK startup, they can apply now for over $20k worth of support to attend, exhibit, and network at the CogX Festival in LA on 7th May here.