Music streaming giant Spotify has been running a secretive program called Perfect Fit Content (PFC) that places low-cost, anonymously produced music on popular playlists, according to an investigation by Liz Pelly published in Harper’s Magazine. The program aims to reduce royalty payments by replacing tracks from known artists with cheaper alternatives on mood and activity … Read more
Swedish fintech company Klarna has halted hiring and reduced its workforce by 22% to 3,500 employees while implementing AI solutions, according to CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, reported by Aisha S Gani and Caroline Hyde, Siemiatkowski revealed that about 200 employees now use AI for their core work. The company’s AI … Read more
ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus has raised concerns about artificial intelligence potentially reducing musicians’ revenues by 20% by 2028, according to a new industry report. Daniel Thomas, writing for the Financial Times, reports that the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) study predicts cumulative losses of €22 billion over five years for creators. The … Read more
Raj Reddy, a Turing Award winner and AI pioneer, proposes using artificial intelligence to enhance global productivity while protecting workers’ interests, according to an interview published by Susan D’Agostino in Quanta Magazine. Reddy suggests that AI could enable people to complete a day’s work in just one hour, potentially creating tenfold increases in wealth and … Read more
AI technology is fundamentally changing how call centers operate in the Philippines, the world’s second-largest market for business process outsourcing (BPO) with 1.84 million workers. According to reporting by Michael Beltran for Rest of World, AI systems now monitor calls, analyze worker performance, and assist agents with customer interactions, leading to increased productivity but also … Read more
An analysis argues that companies building large language models (LLMs) may struggle to achieve profitability due to unfavorable industry structure. The article’s author, Cal Paterson, compares LLM makers to airlines, which historically faced poor business conditions despite their technological importance. The key challenge lies in NVIDIA’s monopolistic position as the sole supplier of essential training … Read more
AI and business strategist Elin Hauge argues that humans need to develop deeper knowledge across multiple disciplines to work effectively alongside artificial intelligence. In an analysis published by VentureBeat, Hauge emphasizes that while AI will automate many routine jobs, the focus should shift to developing comprehensive expertise in multiple domains. She warns that surface-level knowledge … Read more
Walt Disney is launching the Office of Technology Enablement to coordinate the company’s use of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and mixed reality across its various divisions, according to an email seen by Reuters. Jamie Voris, the film studio’s chief technology officer who led development of Disney’s app for Apple Vision Pro, will head the … Read more
Robert Zemeckis’ new film “Here”, starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, uses artificial intelligence to depict the main characters at various ages from 18 to 80. AI-powered visual effects company Metaphysic created digital masks of the actors that could be applied to their faces in real-time during filming, enabling the filmmakers to see the de-aging … Read more
Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced a collaboration with AI company Klay Vision to ethically train generative AI music models using UMG’s data, as reported by Emilia David. The partnership aims to create AI-generated music that respects copyright and includes protections for human creators’ likeness rights. Despite previously suing AI companies for using its data, … Read more