Spotify is launching a test for video-based learning courses in the United Kingdom. Users are invited to test two-free classes before deciding whether to subscribe to a course series, studying topics from DJing to Microsoft Excel. The company has partnered on content with educational tech companies BBC Maestro, PLAYvirtuoso, Skillshare and Thinkific on series averaging $25 to $100 per course (£20 to £80). Topics are organized into four main categories: make music, get creative, learn business and healthy living. Pricing is the same for premium and free members. No word on when the test might expand beyond the UK. Continue reading Spotify Testing Paid Subscription Learning Courses in the UK

The European Commission has opened five investigations targeting Apple, Google, Meta and Amazon with regard to its new Digital Markets Act (DMA) antitrust rules. Under examination are steering practices with regard to Google and Apple and their app stores, potential “self-preferencing” tactics by Google and Amazon, Meta’s “pay or consent” policy for ad targeting, Apple’s compliance with “user choice” obligations, and also its recent App Store price adjustments for third parties. The vetting is expected to last for 12 months. The DMA was adopted in 2022 and goes into force this May. Continue reading EU’s Digital Markets Act Investigation Targets Big Tech Firms

A 2024 Digital Media Trends study by Deloitte says media and entertainment companies “should be thinking more about the world ahead than the one they’re being forced to leave behind,” a suggestion underscored by the fact that 60 percent of Gen Zs surveyed prefer watching user-generated content on social platforms to programming offered by streaming services “because they don’t have to spend time searching for what to watch.” Both Gen Zs and Millennials also believe they get better recommendations from social media than the commercial platforms (54 percent). Continue reading Gen Z, Millennials Prefer Social Videos to Streaming Services

Google is beginning to extend YouTube TV’s multiview functionality to mobile platforms, with iPhones and iPads added in time for March Madness and Android coming in the months ahead. During early access, some users will see an option to simultaneously watch up to four different, though pre-selected, streams in their “Top Picks for You” section. After selecting multiview, viewers will be able to toggle audio and captioning between streams and can jump in and out of a particular game’s full screen view. YouTube TV announced multiview last month “on all devices that support multiview.” Continue reading YouTube TV Begins Offering Multiview for iPhones and iPads

The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday adopted a U.S.-led resolution to promote “safe, secure and trustworthy” artificial intelligence systems and their sustainable development for the benefit of all. The non-binding proposal, which was adopted without a formal vote, drew support from more than 122 co-sponsors, including China and India. It emphasizes “the respect, protection and promotion of human rights in the design, development, deployment and use” of responsible and inclusive AI. “The same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, including throughout the life cycle of artificial intelligence systems,” the resolution affirms. Continue reading UN Adopts Global AI Resolution Backed by U.S., 122 Others

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, joined by 16 other state and district attorneys, has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Apple for “monopolization or attempted monopolization” of the smartphone market. The move comes after years of regulatory scrutiny triggered by complaints from companies who compete against Apple or rely on it to do business and pay hefty fees for doing so. The charges center on the iPhone, which has an estimated 60 percent share of the U.S. smartphone market and is seen as an essential platform for anyone that wants to reach mobile consumers. Continue reading U.S. Targets Apple Smartphone Monopoly in Antitrust Lawsuit

Stability AI has released Stable Video 3D, a generative video model based on the company’s foundation model Stable Video Diffusion. SV3D, as it’s called,  comes in two versions. Both can generate and animate multi-view 3D meshes from a single image. The more advanced version also let users set “specified camera paths” for a “filmed” look to the video generation. “By adapting our Stable Video Diffusion image-to-video diffusion model with the addition of camera path conditioning, Stable Video 3D is able to generate multi-view videos of an object,” the company explains. Continue reading Stable Video 3D Generates Orbital Animation from One Image

Campaigning through the swing state of Arizona on Wednesday, President Biden announced Intel is lined up for a $19.5 billion package under the CHIPS and Science Act. The Department of Commerce has reached a preliminary agreement to provide up to $8.5 billion in grants and $11 billion in loans under the 2022 tech stimulus plan. Intel has committed $100 billion of its own. The CHIPS Act “will enable advanced semiconductor manufacturing to make a comeback here in America after 40 years,” Biden said, addressing a crowd at Intel’s Chandler, Arizona plant, which will be modernized using the funds. Continue reading Intel Awarded CHIPS Act Funding to Boost Production in U.S.

Since Epic Games debuted the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) and Creator Economy 2.0 tools in March 2023, the company says creators have published more than 80,000 UENF islands, and Epic has rewarded creators with more than $320 million in engagement payouts. Now Epic is adding more core features to UEFN: MetaHuman Creator and MetaHuman Animator, which enable the creation and animation of non-playable MetaHuman characters. Epic’s UEFN 2024 roadmap, presented at this week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, includes more camera options for the player-made game platform, including a first-person perspective. Continue reading MetaHuman and Animator Now Available to Fortnite Creators

The House of Representatives passed a bill that bars data brokers from selling the sensitive personal information of U.S. citizens to foreign adversaries, identified in the federal code as China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela. The Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024 passed unanimously on Wednesday, 414-0. The bill prohibits organizations that profit from selling personal consumer information from making it accessible to foreign adversary countries or entities controlled by them, authorizing the Federal Trade Commission to impose civil fines of more than $50,000 per violation. Continue reading Bill Barring Brokers from Selling Personal Data Passes House

Deepgram’s new Aura software turns text into generative audio with a “human-like voice.” The 9-year-old voice recognition company has raised nearly $86 million to date on the strength of its Voice AI platform. Aura is an extremely low-latency text-to-speech voice AI that can be used for voice AI agents, the company says. Paired with Deepgram’s Nova-2 speech-to-text API, developers can use it to “easily (and quickly) exchange real-time information between humans and LLMs to build responsive, high-throughput AI agents and conversational AI applications,” according to Deepgram. Continue reading Deepgram’s Speech Portfolio Now Includes Human-Like Aura

Meta Platforms is showing off fediverse integration for Threads, the Instagram spinoff launched last summer to take on Twitter, now X. At this week’s FediForum virtual conference, Meta Platforms software engineer Peter Cottle demonstrated how users will be able to connect accounts to use the fediverse, simultaneously reaching multiple audiences. Currently, “a limited number of Threads profiles can share their posts to other fediverse platforms,” according to Instagram. In an alpha test, interactions, such as likes and replies, from other fediverse platforms “won’t be viewable on Threads.” Continue reading FediForum: Meta Demonstrates Threads Fediverse Integration

In news rocking the publishing world, two of the largest newspaper chains in the U.S. have drastically downsized their contracts with the Associated Press, eliminating AP journalism from their combined 230 news outlets, including Gannett’s USA Today and McClatchy’s The Miami Herald. Though neither chain disclosed how much the move will save, the AP assesses “it is likely to be in the millions of dollars” for each. Gannett announced it has chosen another newswire partner, Reuters, and says it will continue to subscribe to the AP Stylebook and election results data. AP says its Gannett contract runs through the end of 2024. Continue reading Gannett, McClatchy Cancel Associated Press News Contracts

Nvidia unveiled what it is calling the world’s most powerful AI processing system, the Blackwell GPU, purpose built to power real-time generative AI on trillion-parameter large language models at what the company says will be up to 25x less cost and energy consumption than its predecessors. Blackwell’s capabilities will usher in what the company promises will be a new era in generative AI computing. News from Nvidia’s GTC 2024 developer conference included the NIM software platform, purpose built to streamline the setup of custom and pre-trained AI models in a production environment, and the DGX SuperPOD server, powered by Blackwell. Continue reading GTC: Nvidia Unveils Blackwell GPU for Trillion-Parameter LLMs

YouTube has added new rules requiring those uploading realistic-looking videos that are “made with altered or synthetic media, including generative AI” to label them using a new tool in Creator Studio. The new labeling “is meant to strengthen transparency with viewers and build trust between creators and their audience,” YouTube says, listing examples of content that require disclosure as “likeness of a realistic person” including voice as well as image, “altering footage of real events or places” and “generating realistic scenes” of fictional major events, “like a tornado moving toward a real town.” Continue reading YouTube Adds GenAI Labeling Requirement for Realistic Video