Digital Transformation

Streamflation, a portmanteau of "streaming" and "inflation," is an apt name for the streaming industry's relentless pursuit of the highest price you'd ever be willing to pay for a streaming service. In practice, content prices never come down - so you could argue that there's nothing to see here. But there is. Continue Reading →

As AI's capabilities increasingly blur the lines between human originality and machine-generated derivatives, traditional copyright frameworks appear increasingly antiquated. The once-clear demarcations of ownership, originality, and rights are now mired in ambiguity. How might we rewrite today's copyright regulations to enable a future that respects both human ingenuity and the undeniable contributions of generative AI models? Continue Reading →

Can you rattle off the top 10 generative AI services in order of popularity? You'll probably guess that number one is ChatGPT (and you'll be right). But what's the second most popular generative AI app? Have you used it? Number three? Four? I'm going to guess that you're not as familiar with the most popular generative AI tools as you could be. Continue Reading →

Does generative AI pose a threat to the rich tapestry of human expression? Are we on an inevitable path toward digital monoculturalism? This essay was written in the fall of 2016. Considering how quickly generative AI content creation tools and copilots are being woven into the fabric of our lives, now would be a very good time to start thinking about what our human-created cultures truly mean to us. Continue Reading →

IMAGE: Vintage American anti-capitalist poster, circa 1938. Source: r/antiwork A few years ago, I received an invitation to walk in the Labor Day Parade. It got me thinking about labor law as an alternative path to meaningful data privacy regulation. Today, as we begin to think hard about how to approach AI regulation, I started Continue Reading →

A prevailing misconception suggests that generative AI platforms, such as ChatGPT, possess an almost mystical ability to provide answers to intricate business queries. "How can I sell more widgets in Wyoming?" seems like a simple question, but without the right data, even the most advanced AI systems won't help you. At the heart of this misconception is an overestimation of AI's capabilities. While generative AI is undeniably powerful, it cannot conjure insights from thin air. The adage "Garbage in, garbage out" remains as relevant as ever. In the context of AI, this translates to "You can't analyze data you don't have." Continue Reading →

A federal judge recently upheld a decision by the US Copyright Office denying a copyright registration for an artwork created solely by artificial intelligence. This ruling brings up important questions about the applicability of copyright law to creative works generated by AI systems without direct human involvement. Continue Reading →

As we stand on the precipice of an overwhelmingly AI-driven financial world, we must ask ourselves: Are we prepared for the potential fallout? Gary Gensler, the SEC chair, has sounded the alarm bells, suggesting that AI could be at the heart of future financial crises. His insights, drawn from a paper he penned in 2020, shed light on the risks of AI in financial markets and the limitations of regulatory bodies in addressing these challenges. Continue Reading →

Meta AI has introduced AudioCraft, a text-to-music AI model that does an impressive job of composing, arranging, orchestrating, and playing in a wide range of musical styles. Not only can it create or mimic a melody, but it also engineers and produces fully finished work, some of which is already suitable for commercial use – and this is only V1. Imagine where the state-of-the-art will be a year from now. Continue Reading →

In a stunning display of AI prowess, Meta AI has introduced AudioCraft, a single-stop code base that does an impressive job of composing, arranging, orchestrating, producing and playing music. AudioCraft is not just an AI that can mimic a melody. It's a sophisticated system that can create music, sound effects, and even handle audio compression. Continue Reading →