ByteDance, the Chinese company behind the AI video tool Seedance 2.0, is scrambling to add safeguards after facing substantial backlash from Hollywood studios for generating AI videos featuring copyrighted characters. Disney and Paramount Skydance sent cease-and-desist letters, claiming widespread infringement, with users sharing videos of characters like Spider-Man and Darth Vader, according to Ars Technica.
The studios alleged that Seedance 2.0 users were widely sharing AI videos featuring copyrighted characters across social media platforms. Disney, in its letter, expressed strong disapproval of the situation. ByteDance's response involves rushing to implement measures to prevent the tool from generating iconic characters and deepfaking celebrities, as reported by Ars Technica.
In other news, Michigan is taking legal action against major oil and gas companies, joining several other states in climate-related lawsuits. However, Michigan's approach differs, accusing the companies of colluding to suppress competition from cleaner technologies like solar power and electric vehicles, according to Ars Technica. Legal experts suggest this strategy could be a game changer if the state can overcome initial dismissal attempts by the industry defendants.
Meanwhile, the evolution of communication technologies continues to transform the workplace. The shift to remote work accelerated innovation in audio and video, with companies like Shure and Zoom leveraging artificial intelligence and new acoustic technologies to enhance collaboration, as noted by MIT Technology Review. "Audio and video just working is a baseline for collaboration," said Brendan Ittelson, chief ecosystem officer at Zoom.
In the realm of cybersecurity, researcher Allison Nixon faced death threats from hackers using online handles like Waifu and Judische, according to MIT Technology Review. The threats, which began in April 2024, were posted on Telegram and Discord channels. Nixon, chief research officer at cyber investigations firm Unit 221B, had built a career tracking cybercriminals.
Finally, the search for new antibiotics continues to be a critical area of research. Infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria, fungi, and viruses are associated with over 4 million deaths per year, a number that could surge past 8 million by 2050, according to a recent analysis published in The Lancet, as reported by MIT Technology Review. Bioengineer and computational biologist César de la Fuente, along with synthetic biologist James Collins, warned of a looming postantibiotic era in a July 2025 essay in Physical Review Letters.
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