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Actors Strike To Stop AI Takeover in Video Games

August 2, 2024 by newhiphopnews

By: Zachary Abbott

With the growth of AI in nearly every industry, workers have begun taking up arms to protect their jobs from the encroachment of AI replacements. In 2023, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers of Guild of America (WGA) both went on strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMTP) after strikes that were some of the longest held in the film and TV industry, SAG-AFTRA and the WGA were able to obtain protections for their members against use of AI without consent or compensation.

This dispute has arisen between video game developers and the actors who provide the voices and images for their video game characters. Effective July 26th, Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) members who perform in video games have gone on strike against video game companies signed onto the Interactive Media Agreement. After a year and a half of negotiations over the Interactive Media Agreement, the video game companies still refuse to affirm outright that video game voice actors will be granted rights over how their voice, image, and work are used in training AI or creating AI-generated copies.

These negotiations began in October 2022, and while agreement has been reached on most other important points, AI protections have split the two sides. SAG-AFTRA asks that any game looking to employ SAG-AFTRA talent be signed onto the new Tiered-Budget Independent Interactive Media Agreement and the Interim Interactive Media Agreement or the Interim Interactive Localization Agreement. These agreements aim to give SAG-AFTRA members the right of consent to use their faces, voices, and bodies by AI, which are rights that performers in film and TV already have. Without these protections, video game companies could use AI to replicate performers without compensation or consent and would put them out of work. These Agreements force video game companies to be upfront about their intentions and obtain the consent of actors they seek to replicate through AI.

The strike was authorized on September 24th, 2023, with a 98.32% yes vote. Similar strikes in the industry have benefitted entertainers and creatives, so SAG-AFTRA feels confident that it can ultimately achieve the same results. That said, the strike will be an uphill battle, with SAG-AFTRA members striking against the video game industry titans, including divisions of Activision, EA, Insomniac, Warner Brothers, and Disney.

The post Actors Strike To Stop AI Takeover in Video Games first appeared on The Source.

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Don Lemon Sues Elon Musk For Allegedly Refusing To Pay Him For Twitter Deal

August 1, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Don Lemon and Elon Musk’s working relationship certainly soured quickly after their interview for their media partnership on Twitter went less than stellar. After the former’s show on the social media platform was swiftly canceled after just this one episode, it seems like he wants to seek even more retribution for this breakdown. Moreover, the journalist reportedly filed a lawsuit against the tech tycoon on Thursday (August 1), according to supposed court documents reportedly obtained by TMZ. Specifically, Lemon claims that Musk refused to honor his promise to pay him for this partnership after they fell out following their interview.

Furthermore, Don Lemon specifically claims that Elon Musk verbally promised to pay him $1.5 million a year for making content for Twitter, given that he needed a boost in advertisers after a dip in revenue. He also alleges that Musk promised him a share of the advertising revenue generated by the posts, as well as other monetary incentives corresponding to his growth and popularity on the social media platform. As such, Don believes that the Tesla magnate is breaking the law by walking back on this arrangement, although he admitted that there isn’t a written contract in place concerning these terms.

Don Lemon Sues Elon Musk

Still, Don Lemon maintains that Elon Musk gave him his confident assurance about this payment structure and other aspects via a phone call. In fact, he also claimed that Musk promised to continue to support him financially even if he didn’t like the content that he brought to the table. Don’s first project with Twitter was the Elon interview, and his responses to drug use and politics questions made the writing on the wall clear. But he claims that he had already been pressured to announce this partnership at the CES Vegas tech conference and risked losing it if he didn’t go to the conference along with Twitter’s CEO Linda Yaccarino.

“X’s executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don’s name through the mud,” Don Lemon’s lawyer Carney Shegerian remarked concerning the lawsuit alleging fraud, negligent misrepresentation, name and likeness misappropriation, breach of contract, and other accusations for which he seeks unspecified damages. “His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media,’ which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying,” Elon Musk had written of Lemon. “And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity. All this said, Lemon/Zucker are of course welcome to build their viewership on this platform along with everyone else.”

[via]

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Elon Musk Retweets Digitally Altered and Misleading Kamala Harris Campaign Ad Resulting in Swift Backlash

July 29, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Elon Musk, owner of Tesla, SpaceX and most relevantly the social media platform X (Formerly Twitter) faced instant backlash after retweeting an altered Kamala Harris campaign ad without labeling it as misleading. Full stop, how does the owner of one of the biggest social platforms just take part in clear violations of the platform’s own rules? Not to mention he has 191 million followers, the very thought of this level of misinformation is appalling.

Get this, the retweeted video used segments from a recent Harris campaign video but replaced the audio with a voiceover impersonating Harris, making controversial statements about President Joe Biden’s senility and referring to herself as an incompetent candidate. Feels like a parody, but so what, it’s ridiculous that he would retweet this and shows he and others have no bottom in the lengths they will go to help elect Donald Trump.

And onto the racism. The voiceover also described Harris as “the ultimate diversity hire” and accused her of “trying to sound Black.”

So you know the facts about the original campaign video, it featured Harris asking, “What kind of country do we want to live in?” before transitioning into Beyoncé’s song “Freedom.” The altered version omitted Beyoncé and included derogatory comments, which were widely condemned.

In response, Harris campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg criticized Musk and former President Donald Trump, stating:

“We believe the American people want the real freedom, opportunity, and security Vice President Harris is offering; not the fake, manipulated lies of Elon Musk and Donald Trump.”

The insensitive and misleading video was initially posted by a YouTube account named “Mr Reagan,” labeled as a parody. However, it is unclear if the video utilized artificial intelligence. Alexios Mantzarlis, director of the Security, Trust, and Safety Initiative at Cornell Tech, suggested the altered content might be considered a deepfake, indicating a trend of using such deceptive tactics for trolling rather than legitimate misinformation.

Senator Amy Klobuchar accused Musk of violating X’s policy on misleading content, tweeting, “If @elonmusk and X let this go and don’t label it as altered AI content, they will not only be violating X’s own rules, they’ll be unleashing an entire election season of fake AI voice and image-altered content with no limits, regardless of party.”

X’s own hypocritical policy states that users may not share synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media intended to deceive or confuse people. Despite this, Musk’s retweet had garnered significant attention, with 119.9 million views as of Sunday afternoon.

Just tomfoolery by Elon Musk. Willing to bet if someone retweeted an altered Trump campaign Ad, he’d ban their account for life and hold a press conference stating misinformation will not be tolerated.

The post Elon Musk Retweets Digitally Altered and Misleading Kamala Harris Campaign Ad Resulting in Swift Backlash first appeared on The Source.

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Elon Musk Retweets Digitally Altered and Misleading Kamala Harris Campaign Ad Resulting in Swift Backlash

July 29, 2024 by newhiphopnews

And onto the racism. The voiceover also described Harris as “the ultimate diversity hire” and accused her of “trying to sound Black.”

In response, Harris campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg criticized Musk and former President Donald Trump, stating:

“We believe the American people want the real freedom, opportunity, and security Vice President Harris is offering; not the fake, manipulated lies of Elon Musk and Donald Trump.”

The post Elon Musk Retweets Digitally Altered and Misleading Kamala Harris Campaign Ad Resulting in Swift Backlash first appeared on The Source.

The post Elon Musk Retweets Digitally Altered and Misleading Kamala Harris Campaign Ad Resulting in Swift Backlash appeared first on The Source.

Beats Revives Iconic “Pill People” Campaign to Celebrate Return of Beats Pill

July 16, 2024 by newhiphopnews

In celebration of the return of the iconic Beats Pill, Beats has revived its beloved “Pill People” campaign. Originally launched in 2013, these bold and witty characters have been refreshed for a new generation, embodying the product tagline “Seriously Loud.” Voiced by comedians Ben Marshall, Desi Banks, and Megan Stalter, the “Pill People” campaign features six short videos available on Beats’ social channels. The campaign aims to highlight the vibrant personality and powerful sound of the Beats Pill, engaging both new and longtime fans with its humorous and energetic approach.

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A post shared by Beats by Dre (@beatsbydre)

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Siri Recently Tweaking Playing ‘Not Like Us’ When Asked to Play Drake’s ‘Certified Lover Boy’

July 11, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Siri has entered the rap beef chat.

On Wednesday, a whole rack of iOS users, that’s the operating system exclusive used by Apple btw, noticed an unexpected issue with Siri: when asked to play Drake’s album “Certified Lover Boy” on Spotify, Siri instead played Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.” Huh? What? Who’s messing around in the world of big tech?

Multiple videos surfaced on social media, showcasing different people experiencing the same problem. When requesting Drake’s album, listeners would hear the chilling intro to Lamar’s song: “Psst, I see dead people.”

Unreal. This is literally a bad running joke.

Get this Music journalist and author Sowmya Krishnamurthy highlighted the issue in a TikTok video. Similarly, HipHopDX’s Jeremy Hecht posted proof on Instagram, showing himself asking Siri to play “Certified Lover Boy” and getting the eerie response from Lamar’s track instead. Even KTLA 5 Morning News producer Christina Fawaz also reported the same glitch. So not a gimmick but a real issue. Intermittent at best.

Get this, the problem was reportedly resolved within a few hours, allowing Drake fans to listen to “Certified Lover Boy” without further interruptions.

Oh boy, no pun intended, this latest debacle added another weird layer to the ongoing rap beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, which has been marked by subtle jabs and competitive tension over the years. What’s next, that’s all we want to know.

The post Siri Recently Tweaking Playing ‘Not Like Us’ When Asked to Play Drake’s ‘Certified Lover Boy’ first appeared on The Source.

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Tailor Brands’ Branding Revolution: Think Tony Stark’s Tech for Solopreneurs

July 10, 2024 by newhiphopnews

The dynamic world of entrepreneurship has its unique challenges that are often faced by solopreneurs. Unlike larger enterprises with dedicated marketing teams and substantial budgets, these solo business owners must juggle multiple roles, including branding. For many, the journey starts with a vision and passion for their product or service, but turning that vision into a recognizable and professional brand identity can be a daunting task.

Branding involves a multitude of elements – from logo design and color schemes to typography and brand voice – each requiring a blend of creativity, strategic thinking, and technical skill. For solopreneurs, who already wear many hats as business owners, marketers, customer service representatives, and more, dedicating the necessary time and resources to develop a cohesive and memorable brand identity is often an overwhelming challenge.

The Solution for Modern Branding: Tailor Brands

Enter Tailor Brands in the scene, a tech company that is revolutionizing the branding landscape for solopreneurs. Founded in 2014, Tailor Brands leverages artificial intelligence to offer a suite of branding tools that simplify the process of creating a professional brand identity. From logo design to social media content and business documents, Tailor Brands provides a comprehensive, user-friendly platform that empowers solopreneurs to build and manage their brand easily.

Tailor Brands combines cutting-edge AI with intuitive design to deliver a product that is both powerful and accessible. Just as Stark’s technology enhances human capabilities, Tailor Brands’ AI-driven solutions enhance the branding capabilities of solopreneurs, enabling them to create polished, professional brand identities without the need for extensive design skills or a hefty budget.

Tailor Brands’ Cutting-Edge Branding Solutions

At the heart of Tailor Brands’ offering is its AI-powered logo design tool. Users simply input their business name, industry, and design preferences, and the AI generates a variety of custom logo options in seconds. This process, which once required the expertise of a professional designer and several days or even weeks, is now completed in minutes, giving solopreneurs a significant head start in establishing their brand identity.

Moreover, Tailor Brands offers a suite of tools for creating social media content and marketing materials. Solopreneurs can design eye-catching social media posts, business cards, and branded merchandise, ensuring a consistent and professional brand presence across all platforms. This level of comprehensive branding was previously out of reach for many small business owners, who often lacked the resources to produce high-quality marketing materials.

In addition to visual branding tools, Tailor Brands provides templates for essential business documents and brand guidelines. These templates help solopreneurs maintain consistency in their communications, reinforcing their brand identity and ensuring that every piece of content they produce aligns with their overall branding strategy.

The Future of Branding for Solopreneurs

The importance of Tailor Brands’ innovation cannot be overstated. Having a strong, professional brand identity can be the difference between success and failure for solopreneurs. Tailor Brands is leveling the playing field, allowing solo business owners to compete with larger enterprises and establish a strong market presence.

The business landscape continues to evolve, and the need for effective branding solutions will only grow. Tailor Brands stands at the forefront of this evolution, offering innovative, AI-driven tools that empower solopreneurs to create and maintain professional brand identities with ease. Much like Tony Stark’s technology, Tailor Brands enhances the capabilities of its users, providing them with the tools they need to succeed in a competitive market.

The branding challenges faced by solopreneurs are being addressed by providing accessible, high-quality solutions, Tailor Brands is not just changing the game – it’s revolutionizing it. As more solopreneurs harness the power of Tailor Brands’ technology, the future of small business branding looks brighter than ever.

The post Tailor Brands’ Branding Revolution: Think Tony Stark’s Tech for Solopreneurs first appeared on The Source.

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Kanye West Sued By Employees For Abusive Work Conditions, Allegedly Calling Them ‘New Slaves’ and More

June 30, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Another day, another salacious lawsuit against Kanye West. This one isn’t any less horrible than the last but certainly should be taken seriously if not more as it concerns minors named as plaintiffs. WTF.

As reported by the all seeing eyes of TMZ, there were individuals hired by Ye’s company to create an app, platform or whatever to promote new music but according to the suit, they were placed in what they call a “racist environment with brutal work conditions.”

Get this, wife Bianca Censori, who is not named as a defendant, apparently sent explicit videos to those very hired staff members, which their account, included minors. Again, WTF. If true, disgusting, abhorrent and should not be taken lightly.

It get’s deeper, the newest suit against Ye, accuses the “Flashing Lights” artist and his former staff chief, Milo Yiannopoulos, with what they describe as “forced labor and inhuman degrading treatment.” Adding to their claim, both adult and minor employees were abusively made to work during abnormally long hours, and for their hard work, were not appropriately compensated with the pay they were promised.

Here’s where the specific racial allegations come into play. The group was allegedly openly degraded with racist insults along the lines of being called “new slaves” by Kanye West.

Back in the spring of 2024, Ye launched the YZYVSN streaming service app, aiming to compete with Tidal, Spotify, and Apple Music. According to the lawsuit, Ye wanted to avoid paying these companies to promote his new albums, “Vultures” and “Vultures 2.”

The documents reveal that the team primarily worked remotely, maintaining regular communication with their employers via Zoom, Slack, and Discord.

In April 2024, Milo offered to pay the team $120,000 upon the app’s completion, on the condition that they did not complain about the working conditions.

However, the situation deteriorated when Kanye West stepped in, demanding that the group sign non-disclosure and volunteer agreements or face termination.

They allege the Caucasian bosses used language that attacked their gender, age, race, and national origin in writing – smh – on group chats, referring to them “slaves” and “new slaves.”

ICYMI, in late April, Ye announced he was going into the pornographic business. He asserted he was launching “Yeezy Porn” with his wife Bianca. They say she sent one worker in particular a file-sharing link that contained hardcore explicit scenes, based on the legal brief as reported by TMZ. Adding to the alleged depravity, the minors were not protected from seeing that content videos while they worked on the X-rated app. Again, Bianca is not a defendant. Should she be?

Then on May 1, 2024, the team presented Ye with one of the two completed apps, TMZ is not sure which based on the legal docs, but Ye and his then underling Milo supposedly never paid them for their work. This was the last straw that lead the group to file the lawsuit.

What the actual F? Sad just to report on this. When will it end?K

The post Kanye West Sued By Employees For Abusive Work Conditions, Allegedly Calling Them ‘New Slaves’ and More first appeared on The Source.

The post Kanye West Sued By Employees For Abusive Work Conditions, Allegedly Calling Them ‘New Slaves’ and More appeared first on The Source.

50 Cent Hacked In Wild Crypto Scheme That Made $3 Million in 30 Min; Maintains “I have no association with this.”

June 28, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is not immune to crypto scams. The “In the Club” rapper turned media mogul, revealed he was in fact the victim of a cryptocurrency scam that netted hackers millions of dollars.

Jackson shared on Instagram that his Twitter account and his website, Thisis50.com, were hacked to promote a fraudulent cryptocurrency, resulting in a $3 million gain for the scammers within just 30 minutes.

“My Twitter & Thisis 50.com was hacked,” 50 Cent wrote. “I have no association with this Crypto. Twitter worked quickly to lock my account back down. Whoever did this made $3,000,000 in 30 minutes.”

Get this, the hackers used a tactic known as a “pump-and-dump” scheme, where they flooded the accounts with promotional messages to artificially inflate the cryptocurrency’s value. Screenshots in 50 Cent’s post showed the $GUNIT crypto skyrocketing from under $1 million in market value.

This incident highlights the vulnerability of social media platforms to security breaches and the ease with which they can be exploited for financial scams. The rise of celebrity meme coins, which often depend on celebrity endorsements to boost their prices, has exacerbated the problem, making them attractive targets for such schemes.

The post 50 Cent Hacked In Wild Crypto Scheme That Made $3 Million in 30 Min; Maintains “I have no association with this.” first appeared on The Source.

The post 50 Cent Hacked In Wild Crypto Scheme That Made $3 Million in 30 Min; Maintains “I have no association with this.” appeared first on The Source.

Billionaire Spotify CEO Claims the Cost of Making “Content” Is “Close to Zero” and Sparks Immediate Backlash

June 4, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek faced significant backlash after claiming on X (formerly Twitter) that the cost of creating content is “close to zero.” Let’s take a moment to think about that. This guy is a billionaire who built an empire primarily from a streaming platform that pays most artists pennies, and he dares to…. Okay, let’s get on with what he said:

“Today, with the cost of creating content being close to zero, people can share an incredible amount of content. This has sparked my curiosity about the concept of long shelf life versus short shelf life. While much of what we see and hear quickly becomes obsolete, there are timeless ideas or even pieces of music that can remain relevant for decades or even centuries.”

Ek continued reflecting on enduring ideas: “For example, we’re witnessing a resurgence of Stoicism, with many of Marcus Aurelius’s insights still resonating thousands of years later. This makes me wonder: what are the most unintuitive, yet enduring ideas that aren’t frequently discussed today but might have a long shelf life? Also, what are we creating now that will still be valued and discussed hundreds or thousands of years from today?”

Musicians and music fans quickly criticized Ek’s remarks. Composer Tim Prebble responded, “Music will still be valued in a hundred years. Spotify won’t. It will only be remembered as a bad example of a parasitic tool for extracting value from other peoples music. (or ‘content’ as some grifters like to call it).”

Other users echoed similar sentiments, highlighting the low payouts Spotify provides to artists per stream. Primal Scream bassist Simone Marie Butler bluntly commented, “Fuck off you out of touch billionaire.” The Future of Music Coalition added, “It actually can still be expensive to make records, especially if you care about paying your collaborators fairly. Many musicians are skilled at cutting corners to accomplish their creative goals within limited budgets.”

For the record, he has since clarified his statements in a follow-up post on X, but what do you think? Is the damage done, or not?

The post Billionaire Spotify CEO Claims the Cost of Making “Content” Is “Close to Zero” and Sparks Immediate Backlash first appeared on The Source.

The post Billionaire Spotify CEO Claims the Cost of Making “Content” Is “Close to Zero” and Sparks Immediate Backlash appeared first on The Source.