Val Kilmer resurrected by AI for posthumous film role

Val Kilmer will appear in the upcoming film “As Deep as the Grave” through generative AI, despite never having filmed a single scene before his death in 2025. Coerte Voorhees reports for Variety that the late actor was originally cast as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist, but throat cancer prevented him …

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Elton John and Dua Lipa win: UK drops controversial AI copyright plan

The UK government has abandoned its plan to let AI companies use copyrighted works without explicit permission. Graham Fraser reports for the BBC that the original proposal would have allowed an opt-out system, meaning creators would have needed to actively prevent AI firms from using their work for model training. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced …

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Authors publish empty book to protest AI copyright theft

About 10,000 authors have published a book with no content to protest against AI companies using their work without permission. Dan Milmo reports for The Guardian that contributors include Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory and Richard Osman. The only content in “Don’t Steal This Book” is a list of the contributors’ names. Copies are …

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Yann LeCun’s new AI startup just raised Europe’s largest seed round

AMI Labs, the startup founded by former Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun, has raised more than $1bn in its seed round, making it the largest seed funding round ever secured by a European company. Sifted reports that investors include chip giant Nvidia, Singapore’s Temasek, French firms Cathay Innovation and Daphni, German VC HV Capital, …

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Lights, camera, algorithm: Netflix bets on Ben Affleck’s vision for AI in film

Netflix has acquired InterPositive, an AI tools company founded by actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck, who will now serve as a senior adviser to the streaming giant. Todd Spangler reports for Variety. The full 16-person team of engineers, researchers and creatives will join Netflix as part of the deal. Financial terms were not disclosed. InterPositive, …

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OpenAI raises $110 billion at $730 billion valuation

OpenAI has closed a $110 billion funding round, valuing the company at $730 billion. Amazon contributed $50 billion, Nvidia $30 billion, and SoftBank $30 billion. Additional investors are expected to join. The round is the largest private financing in history, surpassing OpenAI’s own $40 billion round from the previous year. Amazon’s $50 billion commitment begins …

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The ChatGPT gold rush continues: OpenAI eyes $100 billion in fresh capital

OpenAI is nearing the close of a landmark funding round expected to exceed $100 billion, which would set a new record for startup financing. Bloomberg reports that the deal could push OpenAI’s total valuation beyond $850 billion, up from an earlier estimate of $830 billion. The company’s pre-money valuation stands at $730 billion. The first …

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Google Gemini seemingly loses chat history for many users

A bug in Google Gemini is causing chat histories to disappear from the sidebar for a large number of users. Entire conversation lists are going blank, with some users losing up to a year of stored chats. Reports have surfaced on Reddit, Google’s own support forums, and other platforms, affecting both free and paid subscribers …

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Mistral’s revenue hits $400mn as European demand for sovereign AI grows

French AI company Mistral has reported a 20-fold increase in revenue over the past year, reaching an annualised run rate of more than $400 million. CEO Arthur Mensch attributed the growth in part to rising European demand for AI services that are independent from American technology providers. Mistral, founded in 2023 and valued at around …

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Seedance: ByteDance pledges copyright safeguards for AI video tool

ByteDance faces mounting pressure from major entertainment companies over its Seedance video generation tool. Disney and Paramount Skydance have sent cease-and-desist letters to the Chinese technology giant, accusing it of copyright infringement. Disney’s lawyers claim ByteDance provides users with a “pirated library” of copyrighted characters from Star Wars, Marvel and other franchises. David Singer, a …

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