AI Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

AI deepfakes by law.The push from the government comes after artificial intelligence has been used increasingly more to impersonate the image and voices of those in the public eye without their consent or knowledge.It also comes in light of various British artists – including Jess Glynne, Mumford and Sons, Sam Smith, Robert Smith and Zayn Malik – signing an open letter last month, calling for the government to enforce wider protection against the technology.Now, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Music has called on the UK government to regulate the use of AI in music through law, and enforce “a specific personality right to protect creators and artists from misappropriation and false endorsement”.The push came via a report shared earlier today (May 1), and highlighted how a law should be issued to protect celebrities from the risk of AI becoming “a destroyer of creators’ livelihoods”.As highlighted by BBC News, the cross-party group’s chair, Labour MP Kevin Brennan said politicians must “confront the danger that unfettered developments in AI could pose to the UK’s musicians and music businesses” and warned that “AI can be a great servant but would be a terrible master.”The MPs also made reference to a new law passed in the US – the Elvis Act – which prohibits the use of AI to mimic an artist’s voice without their permission, and insisted that “the UK [should] not fall behind our international competitors”.At time of writing, the UK does have regulations in place to prevent people from misrepresenting others when offering goods or services, but the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Music argued how much protection it could offer in relation to AI technology and deepfakes.In response to the issues put forward, a

FKA Twigs has revealed that she has developed her own deepfake version of herself, specifically to interact with fans online.The British singer-songwriter – whose real name is Tahliah Barnett – revealed the news of the AI development in a recent written testimony, where she explained how artificial intelligence can be used when an artist gives their consent.Deepfakes are created using artificial intelligence to make a photo or video of someone by manipulating their face or body.According to a report by Rolling Stone, the online version of the artist will go by ‘AI Twigs’, and will be rolled out later this year to help her maintain a connection with fans online while she focuses on making new music.“In the past year, I have developed my own deepfake version of myself that is not only trained in my personality but also can use my exact tone of voice to speak many languages,” she wrote in the testimony.“I will be engaging my AI Twigs later this year to extend my reach and handle my online social media interactions, whilst I continue to focus on my art from the comfort and solace of my studio.“These and similar emerging technologies are highly valuable tools both artistically and commercially when under the control of the artist.”The singer is set to put forward the testimony to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property in Washington D.C. later today (April 30).

TikTok rapper-producer has revealed he created the reeent viral Kendrick Lamar diss track.On the 2023 single ‘First Person Shooter’, Drake compared himself to Michael Jackson as the two are now tied for the most Number One singles on the Billboard charts. Last month, Lamar took jabs at Drake on ‘Like That’ from Metro Boomin and Future’s first joint project, ‘We Don’t Trust You’ by likening himself to Prince – Jackson’s longtime rival. “Prince outlived Mike Jack’ N****, bum, ‘fore all your dogs gettin’ buried That’s a K with all these nines, he gon’ see Pet Sematary,” he rapped.Drake seemingly responded to Lamar on ‘Push Ups (Drop And Give Me 50)’ – a leaked diss track aimed at Lamar, Metro Boomin, Future and more. “This the bark with the bite, nigga, what’s up? / How the fuck you been steppin’ with a size seven mens on?” he added, alluding to the Californian’s fifth studio album ‘Mr Morale & The Big Steppers’.Earlier this week, a snippet of a supposed diss track by Lamar surfaced online. In the song – known as ‘One Shot’ – the rapper said: “Utter my name three times in front of your mirror / You hesitate to proceed after you have to reconsider.” This has caused fans to think the lyrics were mostly aimed at J.

Hozier has responded to a Homer Simpson ‘cover’ of ‘Take Me To Church’ and shared his opinion on use of AI in musicIn a new interview with Radio X’s Dan O’Connell, the Irish singer opened up about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and its use for “silly” and “harmless” things as well as bigger concerns it may have when it comes to original music.After being asked if he has heard his voice used by AI to cover other random tracks, he replied: “I haven’t heard my voice being used on other stuff. I think I’ve heard maybe ‘Take Me To Church’ as my voice as maybe Homer Simpson or something like that”.Hozier talks about AI technology on Radio X "I don't think I've heard me taking on Megan Thee Stallion" pic.twitter.com/uNl0MO3IFi— daily hozier pics & vids (@dailyhozierpics) April 10, 2024He continued: “I think that stuff is the more sort of silly, harmless stuff.

Billie Eilish, Robert Smith, Stevie Wonder and Nicki Minaj are just a handful of artists who have signed an open letter warning against the “predatory” use of artificial intelligence (AI) in music.Yesterday (April 2), non-profit organization Artist Rights Alliance issued an open letter titled ‘Stop devaluing music’ about the rise of AI in music, signed by over 200 prominent names in the music industry. Read the full letter here.Through the letter, the artist-run nonprofit organization asks that developers, technology companies, and platforms and digital music services “pledge that they will not develop or deploy AI music-generation technology, content, or tools that undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deny us fair compensation for our work.”The letter states: “Make no mistake: we believe that, when used responsibly, AI has enormous potential to advance human creativity and in a manner that enables the development and growth of new and exciting experiences for music fans everywhere.”“Unfortunately, some platforms and developers are employing AI to sabotage creativity and undermine artists, songwriters, musicians and rightsholders.

Grimes has discussed the impact AI could have on the future of music during an appearance in a new docuseries.The singer was interviewed for the new six-part Ari Wallach series A Brief History Of The Future, which uses “history, science, and unexpected storytelling to expand our understanding about the impact that the choices we make today will have on our tomorrows.”“I think because we’re all alive, we all take it for granted that I can think and I have agency and I can feel,” Grimes began. “I think the universe is empty and quiet and it wants to be woken up and filled with beautiful things.”She went on to discuss how technology has already changed the landscape of the music world, with advancements allowing people to make music from their bedrooms.

Mamma Mia! has caused alarm by claiming that her voiceover work for an upcoming BBC production is to be replaced by AI.Sara Poyzer posted a screengrab from an email that she says was sent to her by a production company working for the BBC, in which she was told that her services will no longer be required.“Sorry for the delay,” the post reads.

PlayStation 1 game covers.Over the past few days, X user wxrldprinceii has shared a series of images that see modern-day classic records transformed to look like PS1 games.Dua Lipa’s ‘Future Nostalgia’, Lady Gaga’s ‘The Fame Monster’, Lana Del Rey’s ‘Born To Die’, Charli XCX’s ‘How I’m Feeling Now’ and Caroline Polachek’s ‘Desire, I Want To Turn To You’ have all been featured, with each cover racking up plenty of views and reposts across social media.Desire, I Want to Turn Into You (PS1) pic.twitter.com/4OPJTS79YC— shy ✫彡 (@wxrldprinceii) March 21, 2024Future Nostalgia (PS1) for @LipaKacper_ pic.twitter.com/aqOm8VrlVT— shy ✫彡 (@wxrldprinceii) March 21, 2024Of course, this viral success hasn’t come without criticism. Responding to complaints that the images are far more polished than PlayStation 1-era games, wxrldprinceii wrote: “Reminder that this is what PS1 covers looked like! They rarely used in game stuff for the art, so pls stop @ing me saying it doesn’t look like a PS1 game because it’s not meant to!”reminder that this is what PS1 covers looked like! they rarely used in game stuff for the art, so pls stop @ ing me saying it doesn’t look like a PS1 game cause it’s not MEANT TOOOO AHHHH pic.twitter.com/JhDOY87Ro6— shy ✫彡 (@wxrldprinceii) March 21, 2024Several other creators have also gotten involved in the trend, with hussi_maraj sharing reworked takes on Grimes’ ‘Art Angels’ and Nicki Minaj’s ‘Pink Friday’.I would play this all day everyday! pic.twitter.com/ZeP1MvhYAT— Hussi (@hussi_maraj) March 22, 2024Other people have taken issue with the AI filter used to create these pieces, when artists have been creating their own low-poly images for several years now.

Ubisoft has announced their latest research project, an AI-powered NPC that is set to make conversations within games “more real”. However, the internet isn’t so keen.In a dedicated blog post, Ubisoft explained that the NEO NPC project uses generative AI technology to turn the “dream” of an actual conversation with an NPC in a video game into a reality and a prototype was shared at the Game Developers Conference 2024.The project was also shared across social media alongside a screenshot of a conversation with an AI-powered NPC called Bloom.

James Blunt has opened up about experimenting with AI (artificial intelligence) lyrics and being “humiliated” by the results.On the March 19 episode of the I Never Thought It Would Happen podcast with host Chris Difford, the pair spoke about the rise of AI and how younger musicians are turning to software to generate lyrics for them.Blunt went on to reveal that he too had experimented with AI to see if it could create lyrics accurately in his style, but was “humiliated” by the results that he received. Blunt told Difford: “Every single one of us must have, having heard of [AI], typed in and then written ‘Give me a first based on this, in the style of, in my case, a James Blunt lyric’”.“The truth is, either AI comes up with something very, very generic or my lyrics are just absolutely mundane.”“So AI has totally humiliated me whenever I’ve gone and asked it to impersonate myself.

SXSW have booed a presentation/sizzle reel which focused solely on being pro-artificial intelligence.Conversations about artificial intelligence have been occurring all throughout this year’s South By Southwest festival but many festival goers who are there for the film and TV presentations specifically have not been pleased with the idea.A daily sizzle reel that was shared at the screenings of The Fall Guy and Immaculate at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas on Tuesday (March 12) left the audience booing at the screens over the pro-AI reel that was played before the films.Entire crowd booing the pro A.I. pre-roll at the “Fall Guy” premiere.

The Libertines were shocked to hear a version of their hit ‘Don’t Look Back Into the Sun’ played to them with an AI version of Homer Simpson taking the lead vocal.In a video posted on the band’s Instagram, Pete Doherty and Carl Barat are playing a round of pool when a friend puts the track on in the background.“It’s just like the record, man,” Doherty says, but he is stopped in his tracks when the vocals hit for the first time. “Who’s remixed this then?!” he says, between laughs.

Taylor Swift‘s name from being searched after explicit, fake AI-generated images of the singer went viral last week.At the time of publishing (January 29), searching for Swift’s name and “AI Taylor Swift” on X will lead users to a page that reads: “Something went wrong. Try reloading.” Additionally, a secondary text at the bottom of the page reads: “Something went wrong – but don’t fret.

Taylor Swift appeared online this week.Deepfakes are created using artificial intelligence (AI) to make a photo or video of someone by manipulating their face or body.The images have appeared on sites including X/Twitter and Telegram and have been viewed millions of times. One such photo was reportedly seen by users 47million times before being taken down.X/Twitter said in a statement that it was “actively removing” the images and taking “appropriate actions” against accounts involved in spreading them [via BBC].It added: “We’re closely monitoring the situation to ensure that any further violations are immediately addressed, and the content is removed.”Now, numerous US politicians have pointed to the need for legislation to catch up with advancements in AI technology.

TikTok is reportedly experimenting with AI to create a feature that will allow users to make songs based on prompts.According to TechCrunch, the company has made the experimental feature accessible to a few users so far. It is currently unknown when it will be made fully available.The social media platform has partnered with Bloom, a large language model, to create the lyrics, whilst music from a pre-saved catalogue from TikTok will serve as the instrumental.

Microsoft has spoken out against the new AI-generated deepfakes of Taylor Swift that have been spread widely on social media this week.A new AI filter, which changes users’ faces to look remarkably like Swift’s, went viral. Danae Mercer, a journalist and ambassador for the National Eating Disorder Association, said: “The technology used here is only going to get exponentially smarter.

Taylor Swift AI filter has gone viral online.The warning was shared by Danae Mercer, a mum, journalist and ambassador for the National Eating Disorder Association.Showing how the filter instantly allowed her to change her face to look remarkably like Swift’s, she warned parents: “The technology used here is only going to get exponentially smarter. If you have even a little glimmer of ‘hmm, that doesn’t look like a real person’, give it a year, give it five months.“We need to be informed, we need to be aware, and we need to figure out ways to protect our little ones, because they are growing up in this strange, strange world.”She added: “Oh my gosh I’m worried.

Ready Player One author Ernest Cline has teamed up with AI tech company Futureverse for a new “multi-IP” experience, similar to Fortnite.Announced late last night (January 4), Readyverse Studios has been set-up by Futureverse co-founders Shara Senderoff and Aaron McDonald alongside Cline and the producer of the Ready Player One film, Dan Farah.The first release from Readyverse Studios is set to be the Readyverse, which is due for launch later this year. According to a press release, The Readyverse is a “a dynamic interactive platform of interconnected digital experiences,” with many fans comparing it to Fortnite.Readyverse Studios has already confirmed a partnership with Warner Bros.

YouTube has launched a new feature that will allow users to make music using A.I. voice clones of some of the world’s biggest artists.Earlier this week, the streaming platform announced Dream Track – a text-based feature that will use artificial intelligence to generate songs based on what qualities the user wants, such as the track’s mood or concept.

https://t.co/TNiwrKkPEJ pic.twitter.com/JnZ7IoUAOt— Council of Music Makers (@CounMusicMakers) November 20, 2023Frazer added: “The UK’s strengths and accomplishments in art and entertainment mean we are well placed to take advantage of developing technologies in this field. But creatives rightly have concerns – and proposals – about how their work is used by artificial intelligence now and in the future, and I want to hear them.”She continued: “As Culture Secretary I want to maximise the potential of our creative industries and grow them by £50 billion by 2030, creating one million new jobs.

Shannon Liao, Shear took to social media late last week to comment on a recent article that said “CEOs are hugely expensive, why not automate them?”.“Unironically. Most of the CEO job (and the majority of most executive jobs) are very automatable,” he wrote.

Bad Bunny has furiously addressed a viral AI track created using a replica of his voice in a message to his fans.The track, titled ‘Demo #5: Nostalgia’, was created by using FlowGPT and has over 11,000 posts on TikTok and more than 700,000 streams on Spotify. It also features replicated voices from Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber.As shared by fans on X/Twitter, the Puerto Rican rapper took to his WhatsApp channel to address the song.

ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus has warned of the “existential challenge” of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the music industry.Ulvaeus is the president of CISAC, a non-profit organisation that represents songwriters and composers around the world, collecting and paying royalties to its members whose music has been used in broadcasts, concerts, bars and on streaming services.A new report from the organisation showed that royalty collections for songwriters and composers had recovered from pre-pandemic levels but Ulvaeus warned that AI could present greater challenges to musicians going forward.In a forward to a new report from CISAC, Ulvaeus wrote: “This year’s results show that the collective management system, despite all the enormous challenges it faces in adapting to digital, is still robust and effective. CMOs (collective management organisations) have the backs of the creators they serve and are now delivering more money to more creators than ever before.“And that is good news – because, fresh from Covid and the economic squeeze, what we now face is another very serious, existential challenge – that of artificial intelligence.

Grimes and CreateSafe have partnered up with Slip.stream to make 200+ GrimesAI songs available for content creators to use on any platformEarlier this year, the singer unveiled Elf.Tech, her own AI voice-mimicking software that will allow users to record vocals in Grimes’ voice. The software is powered by CreateSafe’s Triniti API, and enables artists to distribute their creations to DSPs like Spotify, Apple, Tidal, and others.

YouTube is working on a new AI tool that would allow users to create videos that use the voices of well-known musicians.Billboard reported that the company is currently in talks with record labels to negotiate permission for the use of artists’ intellectual property.If it goes ahead, the beta version of the tool would allow a “select group of creators” to use the voices of the artists that agree to participate to create new video content on the platform.However, it is reported that conversations between YouTube and record labels are taking longer than expected. YouTube had intended to unveil the tool at their ‘Made on YouTube’ event in September, but that did not happen.Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group are some of the major labels that are currently in talks over voice rights for the beta version, although it is expected that any wider launch of the tool would require a new set of legal agreements.UMG CEO Lucian Grainge has said that the new technology could “amplify human imagination and enrich musical creativity in extraordinary new ways.”Robert Kyncl, the CEO of Warner Music Group said, “You have to embrace the technology, because it’s not like you can put technology in a bottle.”It is thought that many major artists are resistant to allowing their voices to be used, and Billboard reports that there remain questions about how artists would be paid for the new content that the tool would create.This week (October 18), music publishers including Universal Music Group Publishing, Concord Music Group and ABKCO sued an Amazon-backed AI company over alleged copyright infringement.

The lawsuit – filed in a Nashville court on Wednesday (October 18) by UMG’s publishing company Universal Music Publishing Group, along with co-plaintiffs Concord Music Group and ABKCO – seeks potentially tens of millions of dollars in damages from Anthropic and its AI assistant service Claude (per Music Business Worldwide)It claims that, “in the process of building and operating AI models, Anthropic unlawfully copies and disseminates vast amounts of copyrighted works — including the lyrics to myriad musical compositions owned or controlled by Publishers”.“Publishers embrace innovation and recognise the great promise of AI when used ethically and responsibly,” the suit continued. “But Anthropic violates these principles on a systematic and widespread basis.

L.S. Dunes have released a statement about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in their new music video for the song ‘Old Wounds’.The video was created by generative art maker IAMMETHISISI, and a teaser for it was posted to the band’s social media on Tuesday (September 26).

Snoop Dogg voicing one named “Dungeon Master” who specialises in video games. Celebutante and one-time pop singer Paris Hilton, meanwhile, will voice “Amber” – a mystery-solving detective.“We’ve been creating AIs that have more personality, opinions, and interests, and are a bit more fun to interact with,” a statement from Meta read on their website.

The 2024 Göteborg Film Festival will show an AI-altered version of Ingmar Bergman’s Persona with a new actor edited in. Another Persona will co-star 42-year-old Finnish actress Alma Pöysti as Elisabet Vogler, a role played in the 1966 arthouse classic by Liv Ullmann (now 84), as Deadline reports.

Protect Working Musicians Act, which was introduced by Representative Deborah Ross of North Carolina, may allow independent musicians to negotiate with both streaming services and AI developers.As reported by Billboard, the new version of the bill will grant musicians the opportunity to discuss “fairer rates and terms for the use of their music” with the creators behind AI-generated music. This is in addition to Rep.

Selena Gomez has reacted to an AI cover of The Weeknd‘s ‘Starboy’ that uses computer-generated vocals of hers.Th singer has been working on new music as well as her acting career. Last month, the third season of the hit comedy series Only Murders In The Building hit streaming services, while the 31-year-old is also set to release her next album, currently dubbed ‘SG3’, in the coming months.In June, a snippet of the AI-generated Selena Gomez cover of ‘Starboy’ started to circulate.

AI app can create a video of you dancing from a single photograph.As BGR reports, the technology is the product of a collaboration between researchers and Microsoft, and Tan Wang’s research team at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.The model, titled Disentangled Control for Referring Human Dance Generation in Real World (DisCo), splits the inputted image into three parts: the background, foreground and the person’s pose.From there, it combines that information with data from the TikTok dance videos the AI has trained on in order to generate a clip of you dancing to a specific song.It is said that DisCo may use information from your own dance videos on the social media platform should you have uploaded any previously. However, you will never know if the AI had access to your posts.The technology could be used to help people learn or practice a certain dance routine, but could also result in fake content making its way onto TikTok.In the future, DisCo and similar apps may be used to preview complicated choreographies for shows and projects that involve real humans.

James Cameron says he first warned the world of the threat AI poses in 1984, but the industry “didn’t listen”.In an interview with CTV News, the filmmaker referenced his sci-fi classic Terminator when asked what he thought of AI’s rise in the entertainment industry. “I warned you guys in 1984, and you didn’t listen,” Cameron said.Besides just the entertainment industry, Cameron also thinks that AI poses a threat in military operations: “I think that we will get into the equivalent of a nuclear arms race with AI, and if we don’t build it, the other guys are for sure going to build it, and so then it’ll escalate.

Christopher Nolan has shared his thoughts on the AI boom sweeping Hollywood right now, describing it as “terrifying”.Speaking on a panel following a screening of Oppenheimer in New York, the director spoke out against the effects that AI has had on the industry, advocating for “accountability”.Nolan said, per Variety: “The rise of companies in the last 15 years bandying words like algorithm — not knowing what they mean in any kind of meaningful, mathematical sense — these guys don’t know what an algorithm is. People in my business talking about it, they just don’t want to take responsibility for whatever that algorithm does.”He continued: “Applied to AI, that’s a terrifying possibility.

At a Wednesday hearing in the U.S. Capital, Universal Music Group petitioned the Senate’s intellectual property subcommittee to enact legislature protecting artists and rights holders against AI copyright infringement, Music Business Worldwide reports.

Last month, approximately nine songs purported to be unreleased Frank Ocean cuts circulated among his fan communities, mainly on Discord, selling for thousands of dollars, collectively. But a new report by Motherboard’s Joseph Cox reveals that the songs were created using AI tools.