Top News:
Wired:
Analysis: Perplexity seems to scrape sites using surreptitious methods, ignoring robots.txt, with a Perplexity-tied machine doing so on Wired and other sites — A WIRED investigation shows that the AI-powered search startup Forbes has accused of stealing its content is surreptitiously scraping—and making things up out of thin air.
Discussion:
@rafat, @jessicalessin, @carnage4life, @clive@saturation.social, @johnvoorhees@mastodon …, @bernie_michalik@threads.net, @technicallymims@threads.net, @LeftistLawyer@kolektiva …, @benedictevans@threads.net, @katiedrumm, @timmarchman.bsky.social, @johnkoetsier@threads.net, @howelloneill@infosec.exchange, @olifranklin, @noahshachtman@threads.net and @dmehro, more at Techmeme »
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Bloomberg:
Elon Musk tried to repair his often strained relationship with the ad industry through an appearance at the Cannes Lions, after Twitter skipped 2023's event — Elon Musk attempted to repair his often strained relationship with the advertising industry with an appearance at the Cannes Lions conference in France on Wednesday.
Tim O'Reilly / O'Reilly Media:
How generative AI model providers can create business models that reward copyright holders and content creators, much like what has happened on the web — Last month, The New York Times claimed that tech giants OpenAI and Google have waded into a copyright gray area by transcribing …
Discussion:
@ainemacdermot.bsky.social and Tim O'Reilly on LinkedIn
The Guardian:
Sources: WaPo's Will Lewis advised Boris Johnson and others to “clean up” their phones during UK's COVID-era Partygate scandal in December 2021 and January 2022 — Sources' claim suggests advice by Will Lewis, an informal adviser to then prime minister, contradicted instructions to staff
Discussion:
@adambienkov and @7im
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
London-based sports content studio C15 Studio emerges from stealth to launch FAST channels in partnership with Formula 1, Triton Poker, and others — The developer of free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels dedicated to programming from Formula 1, Triton Poker and professional squash …
Discussion:
Matthew Keys on LinkedIn and Sportico
Jem Aswad / Variety:
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz strike a distribution deal with X for their music series Verzuz, which they sold to Triller in 2021 but have since reacquired — Earlier in the year, Swizz and Timbaland reacquired Verzuz from their previous partner Triller and now own 100% of the platform …
Discussion:
Billboard, WTOP News and Rolling Stone
Laura Kipnis / Wired:
A look at Rebind, a mysterious startup that turns Margaret Atwood and other authors' voices into AI reading companions, and an interview with CEO John Dubuque — Margaret Atwood, Marlon James, Lena Dunham, Roxane Gay: We've all agreed to be turned into AI reading companions by a mysterious company called Rebind.
Discussion:
Rebind AI, more at Techmeme »
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Telegraph Media Group reports a record £244.6M loss in 2023 due to £277.6M of previously unidentified debt, despite operating profit rising 35.2% YoY to £54.2M — Telegraph Media Group has reported a record £244.6m loss in 2023, despite a 35% rise in operating profit.
Discussion:
Telegraph, Bloomberg, The Guardian, @pressgazette, @ljon.bsky.social and @josiahmortimer
Variety:
A look at Paramount's failed merger talks with Skydance and how Shari Redstone's unilateral decision to call off the talks shows her unusual power — For Shari Redstone, it was nothing personal. But the longer the negotiations went on, the more Redstone fell out of love with the idea …
Discussion:
@xpangler, @asharma, @xpangler, @xpangler, @carlquintanilla, The Hollywood Reporter and @xpangler
Charlie Nash / Mediaite:
X removes some of journalist Pablo Manriquez's viral posts on Senator Ted Cruz's donor info; X claims the posts violated its rules but did not give details — A series of viral social media posts revealing the contents of a folder on Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) donors were removed by Elon Musk's platform X on Tuesday.
Discussion:
@pabloreports, @will_bunch, @jaywillis, @ok_post_guy, @prem_thakker, @ericmgarcia, @prem_thakker, @tommyg.bsky.social, @jkarsh, @erratarob and @justinconley
Mickey Djuric / The Canadian Press:
Canadian officials won't say whether or how the new Online News Act should apply to AI companies using Canadian news for training or providing chatbot answers — AI bots using news, regulation remains uncertain — OTTAWA - The federal government is dodging questions about whether artificial …
Discussion:
@tara_deschamps, @nationalpost and MobileSyrup
Thomas Claburn / The Register:
A look at Mozilla's acquisition of Anonym, which offers “privacy-preserving” ad tools, and how Anonym might interact with a user base that tends to block ads — Is such a thing possible for an industry that never respected people's wishes? — ANALYSIS Mozilla this week …
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