Andy Beach, former CTO Microsoft, Discusses AI & Hollywood
The Former CTO of MSFT Shares His Candid Thoughts In Our Far-Reaching Conversation
Welcome to my “brAIn” dump, ski week (and post Super Bowl shocker!) edition. Just returned from several days skiing Mammoth Mountain, and “dump” is the right word. Beautiful powdery (even whiteout) conditions (finally!). But I digress. Let’s get into it. First, it’s the“mAIn event” — my conversation with Andy Beach, former CTO of Microsoft’s media & entertainment group, who just recently left the tech giant after 12+ years. Andy’s insights are always smart — informed by his countless interactions with leading players across media/tech. And now that he’s left the mother ship, he can be more candid than ever.
Then, it’s the “AI Litigation Tracker” — updates on key generativeAI/media cases by leading firm McKool Smith (you can check out all the latest major updates via this “Tracker” link here). Meta, for one, had yet another very bad week in the courts. In a major development, a federal judge is now reviewing whether the “crime-fraud exception” applies to Meta’s attorneys’ conduct. Oops. (Check out McKool Partner Avery Williams’ synthesis here). And check out this separate post by law professor Edward Lee (link here) — it also nicely sums up the ramifications to Meta. But why does Meta matter to you? Well, read on dear reader, because it does ….
But First …
Apple is reportedly developing AI-assisted AirPods with cameras. Read about it here. Hey Scott “Prof G” Galloway. Cupertino clearly has been listening. Now watching too.
I. The mAIn Event - My Exclusive Conversation with Andy Beach
A couple weeks ago, I sat down with Andy Beach, former CTO of Microsoft’s media & entertainment group. We discussed DeepSeek’s threat (real or not?) — how generative AI will transform media and entertainment (it will, significantly) — and how he thinks we’ll look back at it all ten years from now (as the beginning of a new unleashing of creativity). Andy and I certainly don’t always agree. But I always learn a lot from our discussions. Think you will too. It’s a conversation that is candid, enlightening & entertaining. Watch it here below.
Wanna take a deeper dive into Andy’s thoughts? Read his latest: (1) his optimist’s “take” in “The Future of Content Creation”, and (2) “DeepSeek and the AI Arms Race.”
And follow my more fleshed out daily posts on LinkedIn.
II. The AI Litigation Tracker: Updates on Key Generative AI/Media Cases (by McKool Smith)
Partner Avery Williams and his team at McKool Smith (named “Plaintiff IP Firm of the Year” by The National Law Journal) lay out the facts of — and latest critical developments in — these key generative AI/media litigation cases below. Access them directly via this link to the “AI Litigation Tracker”.
(1) Kadrey, et al. v. Meta (class action)
(2) The New York Times v. Microsoft & OpenAI
(3) In re OpenAI ChatGPT Litigation (class action)
(4) Dow Jones, et al. v. Perplexity AI
(5) UMG Recordings v. Suno
(6) UMG Recordings v. Uncharted Labs (d/b/a Udio)
(7) Getty Images v. Stability AI and Midjourney
(8) Universal Music Group, et al. v. Anthropic
(9) Sarah Anderson v. Stability AI
(10) Raw Story Media v. OpenAI
(11) The Center for Investigative Reporting v. OpenAI
(12) Authors Guild et al. v. OpenAI
NOTE: Go to the “AI Litigation Tracker” tab at the top of “the brAIn” website for the full discussions and analyses of these and other key generative AI/media litigations. And reach out to me, Peter Csathy (peter@creativemedia.biz), if you would like to be connected to McKool Smith) to discuss these and other legal and litigation issues. I’ll make the introduction.
About My Firm Creative Media
My firm and I specialize in market-defining strategy and content licensing for generative AI, breakthrough business development and M&A, and cost-effective legal services in the worlds of media, entertainment, AI and tech. We develop game-changing strategic opportunities and leverage our uniquely deep relationships to reach key decision-makers and influencers in record time to execute. Not just talk.
Among other things, we represent media companies for generative AI content licensing, with deep relationships and market insights and intelligence second to none. Reach out to Peter Csathy at peter@creativemedia.biz if you’d like to explore working with us.
Send your feedback to me and my newsletter via peter@creativemedia.biz.