Survey on Actors and Deepfakes Prior to Presentation
In preparation for my presentation, I recommend people read this survey conducted by the UK acting union Equity over how actors feel about AI being used in voice acting, tv shows commercials etc. This survey is part of their campaign called “Stop AI Stealing the Show” and while the solutions that the union provide are […]
The Problems with Twitch
Hi everyone! Stephanie and I will be presenting next week on current issues with popular streaming platform Twitch. We will focus on three main problems that we see with the platform. Here is an article on each topic: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/01/20/twitch-react-meta-dmca-pokimane-gordon-ramsay/ https://globalnews.ca/news/9535007/loot-boxes-gambling-research/ https://cointelegraph.com/news/ftx-influencers-face-1-billion-class-action-lawsuit-over-alleged-crypto-fraud-promotion Have a great weekend!
DeSantis vs Disney and the Rule Against Perpetuities
Please see this NPR article for background and the latest news on the power struggles between Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Disney. The Internet and the media are going wild over the Disney lawyers’ use of the rule against perpetuities that essentially makes the new DeSantis-controlled board powerless. The agreements that Disney signed with the […]
Fans Are Using AI to Make Their Favorite Pop Stars Sing Whatever They WantRead More: Fans Are Using AI to Make Their Favorite Pop Stars Sing Anything
https://popcrush.com/ai-artists-sing-any-song-ariana-grande-lady-gaga/ New AI technology is being developed that allows Fans to make song covers at the click of a button. Fans can now listen to songs they know their favourite artists would have sung better than the original. Examples of content include Kanye West covering Travis Scott’s 90210 and Lady Gaga covering Ariana Grande songs/ […]
Utah Limits Teens Under 18 from Social Media Access
Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed two bills that prohibit children under 18 from using social media between 10:30 pm and 6:30 am and require age verification for all social media users in the state. The laws also give parents access to their children’s posts and messages and hold platforms liable for civil fines if they […]
Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, and many more caught in entrepreneur’s crypto scheme
More celebrities are being accused of participating in a cryptocurrency scheme, and they’re paying the price for doing so. Actress Lindsay Lohan and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, amongst 6 other celebrities, were slapped by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) with an official complaint accusing them of promoting cryptocurrencies without disclosing they were paid to do […]
Dark Times for Dark Patterns?
Epic Games, the developer of the popular video game Fortnite, has been fined a combined $520 million by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for violating FTC rules. The payment is the largest ever required for an FTC rules violation and relates to two complaints concerning in-game microtransactions and privacy concerns. Interestingly, the FTC had […]
A New Outlook on Political Advertising?
The Ontario Election Finances Act (EFA) imposes spending limits on political parties and third parties, with a $600k spending limit for third-party political advertising in the 6-12 months before a general election. Political parties successfully challenged these amendments as an infringement of freedom of expression under §2(b) of the Charter. The government re-enacted identical amendments […]
Masses deceived by Flawless AI-generated image of Pope Francis in Puffy Coat
Over the weekend, an AI-generated image of Pope Francis in a puffy white coat went viral on Twitter. There are AI images making their way around the internet all the time, but what was interesting here is how realistic the photo is – most people believed it was real. Based on today’s discussion in class, […]
A Judge Sided with Publishers in a Lawsuit over the Internet Archive’s Online Library
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/26/1166101459/internet-archive-lawsuit-books-library-publishers Please find attached an interesting article outlining the decision on the Internet Archive’s decision to make copies of and distribute copyrighted works for free at the start of the pandemic. In summary, the Internet Archive argued their “fair use defense rests on the notion that lawfully acquiring a copyrighted print book entitles the recipient […]
Love Island UK Season 8 winner Ekin-Su and former contestant Paige are each suing the fashion brands they signed with soon after leaving the villa last summer, alleging breach of contract
Ekin-Su signed a £1M deal with Oh Polly and released a collection with them last October. Not even six months later, Oh Polly ended the partnership. Now Ekin-Su is Ekin-suing. Paige is also suing the brand that she partnered with post-villa, Forever Unique, after signing a six-figure deal with them. Both cases appear to be […]
Spring 2023: Class 10
Slides & video below…
Levi’s to use AI fashion models in the name of ‘diversity’
Levi’s will work with Amsterdam-based digital model studio Lalaland.ai to create AI models for the company’s clothes with the goal of “increasing the number and diversity of our models for our products in a sustainable way.” The author of the article criticizes this partnership as a corporation preferring to create models rather than actually hiring humans […]
Quick Video on Deepfakes!
Disclaimer: We do not endorse or watch Joe Rogan or his nonsense, this video was simply what fit into our needs here. Ahead of our presentation, Melodie, Aki, Ricky, Chris, and I would like you to watch a 6 minute video (less if you put the speed up!) discussing some of the pitfalls and potential […]
AI Chatbots: What they really mean for the future
Some of the topics covered included topics we have mentioned – the Eliza effect of emotionally bonding with machines, the intellectual property problem, and some human tasks (and jobs) that may be substituted by AI Chatbots. As my paper is on disinformation, I quite enjoyed their focus on the problem of misinformation AI Chatbots create […]
Will TikTok be banned in the US?
The debate is happening many places worldwide and I just came across this article explaining why this is happening: https://www.nytimes.com/article/tiktok-ban.html Many regulators in the West have growing concerns about TikTok and its use of sensitive user data and, in particular, the relationship with the Chinese government. Apparently, the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, is […]
Update on Mikayla Lashgate: Admitting to using false lashes?
While she’ll probably never admit to whether she used falsies in that ad, Mikayla’s huge platform and fanbase mean she’s relatively shielded from any real consequences for misleading advertising. Ironic that her advertising may be as false as her lashes, yet she gets to make a joke out of the controversy and fans love her […]
Presentation: Contemporary Issues in Print Media and Publishing
Hi everyone, Here are a few articles you might want to check out for our upcoming presentation: http://neil-clarke.com/a-concerning-trend/?fbclid=IwAR2nh5lwMf2yNob-DH5xjPGuvbMOmH_4MgbYNJEXRUv5XFXQ3KlHf9YZ2bE https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/12/09/penguin-random-house-ceo-leaves-after-failed-simon-schuster-merger.html?fbclid=IwAR2NG90vUXu8VZYZwVZVx3n7AxZLeIpIGzEiCPDu1hUjv_SjH8CRnpn2uyM https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/news/marvel-comic-book-writers-pay-usd-5000-special-contracts-mcu-movies-disney-billions-box-office-2506977
B.C. parent launches class-action lawsuit against makers of Fortnite video game
CTV News reports “A Vancouver parent has launched a proposed class-action lawsuit against the makers of Fortnite, saying the popular video game is designed to be “as addictive as possible” for children. The class-action lawsuit would still need approval from the court and none of the allegations have been proven in court. The plaintiff is […]
US Copyright Office: Guideline for AI-generated Works
Hi everyone,To follow up on the group presentation regarding whether AI generative work is copyrightable, I am posting that the US Copyright Office released registration guidelines on AI generative work just two days ago. In a recent case, the US Copyright Office canceled the registration of an illustration generated from prompts using the AI, stating […]
Microsoft will add AI tech to office suite programs like Word, Excel
Microsoft Corp. on Thursday trumpeted its latest plans to put artificial intelligence into the hands of more users, answering a spate of unveilings this week by its rival Google with upgrades to its own widely used office software. The technology company previewed a new AI “copilot” for Microsoft 365, its product suite that includes Word […]
Ticketmaster/Live Nation’s Monopoly over the Entertainment Industry
Hi everyone! In preparation for Zach, Stephanie and Charis’ presentation next week, please take a look at the articles below. Our presentation will focus on the recent controversies regarding Ticketmaster/Live Nation’s monopoly in the entertainment industry and what we think might happen in the pending class action lawsuits. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/25/the-live-nation-and-ticketmaster-monopoly-of-live-entertainment.html – background on Ticketmaster/Live Nation’s monopoly […]
Purrfectly defiant: Nicole Scherzinger claws back at the Pussycat Dolls in her new song ‘Freedom’
Nicole Scherzinger, a former member of the Pussycat Dolls, recently debuted her new single Freedom at a concert in Australia. Many believe she was dissing the Pussycat Dolls in some of her lyrics of this new song. These beliefs are based on some recent drama regarding the former pop band. In 2019, the Pussycat Dolls […]
GPT-4 Basically on par with lawyers now?
As I’m following the generative AI bandwagon, OpenAI has released GPT-4, which is said to be “more dependable, innovative, and equipped to manage significantly more sophisticated directives” in comparison to its previous GPT-3.5 and ChatGPT versions. Not only that, but, in a demonstration, the engineers at OpenAI noted that the enhanced version of ChatGPT had […]
Spring 2023: Class 9
Slides & video below…
Arc-teryx or Terrex? Well, You’re About to Find Out
Anyone who lives in the Kitsilano-region and frequents West 4th Ave is sure to have noticed the sudden spike in retial stores selling active-outdoor gear. With Arc-teryx having the stronghold in that area, it was interesting to see an oddly similar brand, Terrex (by Adidas), move into the brick-and-motor location just a few doors East. […]
Amazon Liable for Third-Party’s Trademark Infringement
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that Amazon can be held liable for trademark infringement if a third-party offers goods infringing an EU trademark on its marketplace platform. The case involved a claim of infringement on Louboutin’s world-renowned red sole trademark. The CJEU considered the concept of “use” in EU […]
Google Stopping Tests that Blocked News Links for Some Canadians
Google recently announced it was stopping tests, that began February 9th, that blocked various news content for a content for under 4% of Canadians (randomly chosen). The testing was in response to Bill C-18, the Online News Act. Google described the tests as being for the purposes of testing the impact of Bill C-18, which […]
Fox News Facing Another Defamation Lawsuit
I thought this was an interesting case! Fox News is facing another defamation lawsuit and this one looks promising. The New York State Supreme Court greenlighted the lawsuit yesterday. Smartmatic USA Corp et al v Fox Corp et al, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 1st Department, No. 2022-01291 “The earth is round, two […]
Presentation: Dance, Copyright, and the Digital World
The availability of copyright over choreography is an area with very (very) sparse Canadian case law, although there are interesting US examples of ways that artists have protected their bodies of work such as the Balanchine Trust. We will question whether there is enough protection for this art form in law, or whether copyright law […]
Spring 2023: Class 8
Slides & video below…
RadioGPT: End to Radio Jockeys?
Article: https://www.wionews.com/technology/end-of-rjs-radiogpts-ai-generated-radio-jockeys-to-start-reading-news-570381 Hi everyone! I came across this article discussing the “future of radio”. It states that an Ohio-based media company has created RadioGPT – the “world’s first-ever radio platform powered by artificial intelligence”. The technology will scan online news sources for interesting topics, then create and read a script itself with “personalities”. It will […]
Image Rights
In preparation for Niklas & Jordan’s presentation please have a look at the following article.
Seattle schools sue tech giants over social media harm
Hey everyone! I came across this article about how the Seattle district schools tried suing several tech giants such as snapchat and Facebook over the fact that their student’s mental health has been affected by these platforms! They did not argue the platforms were responsible for what other people post on said platforms but rather […]
Spring 2023: Class 7
Slides & video below…
Paramount breaches half a billion dollar contract with Warner Bros. Studios over exclusive rights to cartoon South Park?
I found this recent article about a New York State Supreme Court case brought to the court by Warner Bros. Discovery, suing Paramount over their contract for the cartoon South Park’s exclusive rights. In 2019 Paramount and the South Park creators sold the exclusive rights to the first 23 seasons of South Park and three […]