Exclusive: Microsoft's CTO & Other Experts Discuss Where Generative Video Is Going
AI Filmmaker Paul Trillo Joins Microsoft CTO Andy Beach & Others on My Roundtable Discussion (WATCH or LISTEN)
Welcome to your Monday morning brAIn dump! First, “the AI:10” - the 10 key generative AI related media and entertainment headlines from last week. Next, “the mAIn event” - my headline story (this week’s is a fascinating exclusive video roundtable discussion I organized and moderated that features Microsoft’s CTO Andy Beach, leading AI filmmaker Paul Trillo & other experts (obviously, key players in the world of generative AI/media/entertainment). Then, it’s my genAI video of the week (Trillo’s teaser trailer based on Carl Sagan’s famed “golden record” project). Finally, “the AI case tracker” - updates on key generative AI copyright infringement cases.
You can listen to this week’s “the brAIn” companion podcast episode via this link!
Or, you can find it, together with all episodes, on all major podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify. Please follow it, rate it, and share it. I record it myself, so you get my personal “flavor.” No AI/synthesized voices here!
I. the “AI:10” - last week’s 10 key AI headlines
(1) To sue or not to sue, THAT is media’s key generative AI question! The two leading stock photo giants — Getty Images and Shutterstock — are at the center of this storm and taking wildly different approaches. Getty Images is suing generative AI companies that haven’t licensed their works, including MidJourney and Stability AI (I track the case’s progress in my “AI legal case tracker”). Meanwhile, Shutterstock licensed its content to OpenAI and established a “contributor fund” to pay creators when their work is used to train AI models. And I’m in the center of it all, trying to mediate! Read more here via Andy Abramson, CEO of Comunicano.
(2) Conde Nast says “Can Do Not!” to Perplexity. The magazine giant sent a cease-and-desist letter to the indifferent generative AI search engine, demanding that it stop using its content in its search results. Read more here.
(3) Defiance against deepfakes! The U.S. Senate just passed “The Defiance Act”, new landmark legislation that allows deepfake victims to sue over nonconsensual images. But how will our wacky House of Representatives respond? Read more here.
(4) Thankfully, the deepfake AI-pocolypse hasn’t happened. At least not yet! Axios reports that AI-generated deepfakes “have yet to become the huge truth catastrophe that experts warned about,” because media and tech platforms have gotten better at quickly spotting and debunking AI disinformation. But we still have 3+ months ‘til the November elections. Just sayin’ …. Read more here.
(5) But some see nothing wrong with “fakes.” Stef Van Vugt, founder of Fruits Music — which has racked up tens of billions of plays on Spotify — defends so-called “fake artists” in music. In a major op-ed, he argues that “The AI genie is out of the bottle. You can sue, opt-out, or attempt to eliminate all AI startups. But that does not address their attraction to, and benefits for, the average consumer.” So what’s the music industry to do? Expand its business models, that’s what. Read more here.
(6) Meanwhile bandit “artists” search for creative reasons to justify their fake creative work. Chilean opportun-artist Mauricio Bustos (aka “FlowGPT” - yes, that’s his moniker) used superstar artist Bad Bunny’s voice to create the song “NostalgIA,” which skyrocketed on social media. It even features “fake Biebs” — a synthetic Justin Bieber sings the chorus in fluent Spanish. Mr. Bunny wasn’t too happy about any of it. In fact, he was “hoppin’” mad! (cue laugh track) Read more here.
(7) Even long-time Hollywood traditionalists are on AI board. PR expert Cynthia Lieberman recently wrote a piece about how AI can save journalism, saying that AI “has the potential to save an revitalize authentic journalism by empowering real reporters and producers to generate more and better stories.” Read more here.
(8) Trapped (infringing)? Or “Entrapment” (fair use)? You know where I stand. A new industry of “copyright traps” is growing fast to tell writers — and all creators — whether their copyrighted works have been scraped without consent. Read more here. You can bet I’ll be following all of this closely (in fact, I’m working with the leading organization in the world that does these kind of AI “forensics”). Reach out to me if you want to learn more.
(9) OpenAI’s CTO says the quiet part out loud. A few weeks ago, when discussing ChatGPT and the company’s other genAI tools’ impact on creative industries, Mira Murati said this: “Some creative jobs maybe will go away, but maybe they shouldn’t have been there in the first place if the content that comes out of it is not very high quality.” Methinks it may be time for some PR (and empathy) training. Read more here.
(10) All of which begs the question, do you have “Resting AI Face?” Studies now show that group creative “spit-balling” sessions become LESS productive and creative when they rely too much on ChatGPT and other genAI tools (and leave the messy human process of group ideation too far behind). Listen to this fascinating episode — “Flying Too High: AI and Air France Flight 447” — from one of my favorite podcasts, “Cautionary Tales with Tim Hartford.” You’ll understand and appreciate what he means by “Resting AI Face” by the time you finish it. It’s worth the wAIt.
BONUS! You asked for it, you got it — here’s your generative AI “cheat sheet”! Okay, maybe you didn’t ask for it, but you’ll still find it useful. Brought to you by The Verge, this brief overview lays out the relevant jargon — what it all means — and identifies some of the companies leading the AI revolution. Definitely worth checking out. Find it here. Consider it my gift to you!
II. the mAIn event - The State of Generative AI Video Today (& Where It’s Going): My Exclusive Roundtable Discussion with Microsoft CTO Andy Beach, AI Filmmaker Paul Trillo & Other Experts
Last week I moderated a world-class roundtable for Digital Hollywood with many of the leading experts and voices in the world of generative AI and video — around the central topic of the state (and sophistication) of generative AI video today — and where it’s going in the next year and beyond.
My roundtable includes a veritable “who’s who” of leading players driving this genAI transformation of video: Andy Beach, CTO of Microsoft (Media & Entertainment), Paul Trillo (one of the leading generative AI filmmakers), Jen Hollingsworth (Chief Commercial Officer of Flawless AI, a leading genAI company serving Hollywood and Madison Avenue), Renard Jenkins (leading AI expert and evangelist), and Phillip Fury (AI innovator and entrepreneur).
Watch it or Listen to it (via my companion “the brAIn” podcast). It’s fascinating, enlightening, and frequently mind-blowing.
And watch this excerpt where Paul Trillo discusses what he finds most exciting and powerful — as a filmmaker — about using generative AI in his craft.
What do you think? Send me your feedback and reach out to me at peter@creativemedia.biz and check out my firm Creative Media.
III. my generative AI video of the week - Carl Sagan’s “golden record” project (by Paul Trillo)
“The Golden Record”: from raw earth material to a time capsule of human life on Earth, The Golden Record was launched into space in 1977 in the hopes that one day it will be received by extraterrestrial beings. Famed astronomer Carl Sagan curated the project. And Paul Trillo just curated this video inspired by it, using Sora. Paul writes this about his project: “Sora is at its most powerful when you’re not replicating the old but bringing to life new and impossible ideas we’ve would have otherwise never had the opportunity to see.”
IV. the AI legal case tracker - updates on key AI litigation
I lay out the facts - and the latest developments - via this link to the “AI case tracker” tab on “the brAIn” website. That’s where you’ll find everything you need about each of these cases (including my detailed analysis and predictions).
(1) The New York Times v. Microsoft & OpenAI
(2) UMG Recordings v. Suno
(3) UMG Recordings v. Uncharted Labs (d/b/a Udio)
(4) Universal Music Group, et al. v. Anthropic
(5) Sarah Silverman, et al. v. Meta (class action)
(6) Sarah Silverman v. OpenAI (class action)
(7) Getty Images v. Stability AI and Midjourney
NOTE: Go to the “AI case tracker” tab at the top of the page at “the brAIn” website.
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