Media & Entertainment

Media & Entertainment tech news covers everything from Big Tech to streaming services to mobile apps. We dissect startups entering App Stores, the creator economy and more.

“Enhancing Deepfakes Surveillance: Meta’s AI Playbook Introduces Increased Labeling and Reduced Takedowns”

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Meta has announced changes to its rules on AI-generated content and manipulated media following criticism from its Oversight Board. So, for AI-generated or otherwise manipulated media on Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram, the playbook appears to be: more labels, fewer takedowns. “Our ‘Made with AI’ labels on AI-generated video, audio and images will be based on our detection of industry-shared signals of AI images or people self-disclosing that they’re uploading AI-generated content,” said Bickert, noting the company already applies ‘Imagined with AI’ labels to photorealistic images created using its own Meta AI feature. Meta’s blog post highlights a network of nearly 100 independent fact-checkers which it says it’s engaged with to help identify risks related to manipulated content. These external entities will continue to review false and misleading AI-generated content, per Meta.

TikTok Claims $14.7B Boost for US Small Businesses in Effort to Avoid Ban

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Hoping to stall a ban, TikTok says it generated $14.7B for US small businesses last yearAs U.S. lawmakers weigh a possible TikTok ban, the ByteDance-owned short-form video app released an economic impact report on Thursday. In it, the company touts the platform generated $14.7 billion for small- to mid-size businesses (SMBs) last year, and a further $24.2 billion in total economic activity, supported through small business’s use of TikTok. In addition, it says that over 7 million U.S. businesses rely on TikTok and that 224,000 jobs were supported by small business activity on the platform in 2023. In March, a bill that could ban TikTok passed in the House of Representatives. The Trump administration had previously sought to ban TikTok, calling it a national security risk, but Trump now opposes a ban, saying that Meta would benefit.

“Breaking Barriers in AI: Emilia Gómez’s Musical Journey into the EU’s Influential Tech Sector”

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Gómez’s research is grounded in the computational music field, where she contributes to the understanding of the way humans describe music and the methods in which it’s modeled digitally. What I liked at the time from machine learning was its modelling capabilities and the shift from knowledge-driven to data-driven algorithm design — e.g. There’s also PHENICX, a large European Union (EU)-funded project I coordinated on the use of music; and AI to create enriched symphonic music experiences. What advice would you give to women seeking to enter the AI field? They should learn about the working principles and limitations of AI algorithms to be able to challenge them and use them in a responsible way.

Can India Tackle Election Misinformation? Analyzing Labels and the AI Safety Coalition within its Borders

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India, grappling with election misinfo, weighs up labels and its own AI safety coalition An Adobe-backed association wants to help organizations in the country with an AI standardIndia, long in the tooth when it comes to co-opting tech to persuade the public, has become a global hotspot when it comes to how AI is being used, and abused, in political discourse, and specifically the democratic process. Tech companies, who built the tools in the first place, are making trips to the country to push solutions. Using its open standard, the C2PA has developed a digital nutrition label for content called Content Credentials. It also automatically attaches to AI content generated by Adobe’s AI model Firefly. “That’s a little ‘CR’… it’s two western letters like most Adobe tools, but this indicates there’s more context to be shown,” he said.

Facebook’s Latest Move: Introducing a Vertical-First Video Player to Compete Against TikTok

Meta Company Loses Net Worth After Facebook Lost Daily Users
Facebook is introducing a new, full-screen video player on Wednesday, which offers a more consistent design and experience for all types of video lengths, including short-form Reels, long-form videos, and even Live content. These improved recommendations will also appear outside the player, on the Facebook Feed and Video tab. Facebook says its upgraded player will also offer new controls like a full-screen mode for horizontal videos and a slider to skip around in longer videos. TikTok, by comparison, has also tested horizontal videos and long-form content of 30 minutes as it looks to compete with YouTube and other sites. The timing of the video player change also comes at a time when U.S. lawmakers are weighing a possible TikTok ban, which, if enacted, could increase video consumption on other social platforms.

“Ex-Snap AI Executive Debuts Higgsfield in Challenge Against OpenAI’s Sora Video Generator”

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OpenAI captivated the tech world a few months back with a generative AI model, Sora, that turns scene descriptions into original videos — no cameras or film crews required. So he launched Higgsfield AI, an AI-powered video creation and editing platform designed for more tailored, personalized applications. In fact, Mashrabov sees social media — and social media marketing — as Higgsfield’s principle money-making niche. So we believe video generative AI solutions will be a core solution in helping them to achieve it.”Of course, Higgsfield isn’t immune from the broader challenges facing generative AI startups. It’s well-established that generative AI models like the kind powering Diffuse can “regurgitate” training data.

Introducing StoryBlend: The Ultimate Short-Form Storytelling App with a Perfect Fusion of Videos and Text

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Agnes Kozera and David Kierzkowski, the co-founders of podcast sponsorship marketplace Podcorn, today launched their newest app—Storiaverse, a short-form entertainment platform that offers a multi-format reading experience, combining animated video and written content. Available on iOS and Android devices, Storiaverse caters to graphic novel readers and adult animation fans who want to discover original stories in a short-form, animated format. At launch, Storiaverse offers 25 original titles spanning genres such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, and comedy. Additionally, TikTok star and independent animator King Science (Science Akbar) is teaming up to create an exclusive story on the app. There are currently over 100 creators working with Storiaverse and more than 100 stories in development.

“Against Irresponsible AI: An Open Letter by Nicki Minaj, Billie Eilish, Katy Perry and More Musically-Inclined Artists”

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A group of 200 musicians signed an open letter calling on tech companies and developers to not undermine human creativity with AI music generation tools. “When used irresponsibly, AI poses enormous threats to our ability to protect our privacy, our identities, our music and our livelihoods,” the letter reads. Some companies like Adobe and Stability AI are working on AI music generators that use licensed or royalty-free music. But these tech companies aren’t listening. “This assault on human creativity must be stopped,” the musicians’ letter says.

“Introducing New Moves for House DJs: Meet Odd Ball, the Innovative Ball-shaped Instrument”

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Odd Ball, the ball-shaped music instrument, is adding new gestures so you can become a house DJOdd Ball is a company that makes fun electronic bouncy balls that let you generate MIDI sounds by tapping or bouncing them. With the most recent app update, the company also lets you be the DJ at a house party with these gestures. The app will generate sound based on how hard or fast you spin or shake the ball. While Odd Ball hasn’t raised any institutional money, it has some advisors on the board. Odd Ball is working on a version of the ball with multiple RGB LEDs for a new interaction dimension.

New album by Beyoncé titled “Cowboy Carter” takes a bold stance against the rise of AI music.

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Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” has been out for only a few days, yet it’s already obvious that we’ll be talking about it for years to come — it’s breaking records across streaming platforms, and the artist herself calls it “the best music [she’s] ever made.” But in the middle of the press release for “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé made an unexpected statement against the growing presence of AI in music. Some of the best-known AI companies, like Open AI and Stability AI, use datasets that include copyrighted artworks without consent. Beyoncé’s stance makes even more sense in the context of “Cowboy Carter” itself. Though it does not explicitly discuss AI, “Cowboy Carter” already addresses the theft and appropriation of artworks without consent. Even the title “Cowboy Carter” nods to the appropriation of Black music for white people’s gain.