Disney’s whole new world 🏰

Backed by the Chief Sumo, Noah Kagan, Castmagic helps you turn productive meetings into “How-to” guides for your team, and podcasts into twitter threads. Turn your audio into content like magic with Castmagic.

The entertainment industry is grabbing hold of AI with both hands. Welcome to the AllThingsAI newsletter. Let’s get into it.

Breakdown:

• Disney has its eye on AI.

• Universal Music may have decided if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

• Google has a fresh AI-powered tool for developers.

• A GPU startup ties itself to Nvidia for chip access.

• Is Zoom using your Monday meetings to train its AI or not?

The algorithmic kingdom

The House of Mouse is getting into AI. At least, that’s what Reuters is reporting.

The Walt Disney Company is said to be exploring how AI might be applied across its operations and is actively assembling a team to achieve those goals. (Think the Avengers, but instead of superpowers, everyone’s just really smart.)

Reuters notes Disney is currently searching for a dozen AI experts to add to the task force and that its eventual aim is to implement AI tools for everything from movie effects to customer service handling. While the report doesn’t go into specifics, surely we’ll be able to measure how close we are to the singularity when Tony Stark’s J.A.R.V.I.S. is handing out wristbands at Disney World.

It’s worth remembering that Disney has form when it comes to pushing the technology envelope; the company’s Imagineering unit has developed everything from Stuntronics (think crash-test dummies that can swing through the air like Spider-Man) to a dancing robot Groot, so AI development seems like a logical next step. Although one has to wonder what comes next - particularly considering the urban myth about Walt Disney being frozen after his death…💀

All this talk of AI at Disney comes as screenwriters and actors are on strike - in part because of the perceived threat that AI poses to creative careers. Reuters says Disney was building out its AI squad long before the picket lines formed, but it also notes the company sees potential cost-savings in AI. Needless to say, unions will surely be keeping on eye on what Disney does next.

Why it matters:
While the story presents as Disney being AI-curious, the company is currently being shellacked on the stock market - so don’t be surprised if it goes all in on AI soon. But with Disney employing close to a quarter-of-a-million people, the Magic Kingdom may also become a litmus test for how AI disrupts jobs at scale.

Tome isn’t a deck, or a doc, or a splash page. It’s a web-based multimedia canvas built for how we communicate today.

Tome’s AI tools help you generate new content so you can get your point across compellingly. Get started for free today.

The next BTS could be AI BTS

A few months back, a song by Drake and the Weeknd rolled out on TikTok and quickly became a viral sensation. The track, dubbed “Heart on my Sleeve,” also started picking up traction on Spotify and YouTube. The only problem was, Drake and the Weeknd didn’t record it.

“Heart on my Sleeve” was put out by a mysterious TikTok user going by the handle ghostwriter977. And though some speculated Drake and the Weeknd were in fact behind Fake Drake and Pretend Weeknd, a slew of takedown notices by ​​Universal Music Group (UMG) suggested otherwise.

Fast forward to now, and it seems UMG has changed its mind about AI artists. Or at least, it smells money.

The Financial Times (paywall) says UMG is in talks with Google about establishing licenses for deepfake tracks. Sources for the report say talks are at an early stage and that it’s unlikely any legitimate tools will be released anytime soon. Too bad, I suppose we’ll have to wait a while for an AI Dionne Warwick cover of a Doja Cat track.

Why it matters:
The music industry has PTSD when it comes to technological advances. (iTunes killed the album model, streaming decimated royalties.) But if the sector can get ahead of AI-generated pop star performances, then it could open up a whole new way for artists to make money. Indeed, former mop-top Paul McCartney recently noted AI has enabled the creation of a “final” Beatles track, which is set to release later this year - five decades after the band broke up.

Results from our last poll | What AI innovations should banks focus on?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 A chatbot financial advisor 💸

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ An AI tool that automatically separates your bills and expenses each month 🧮

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Enhanced fraud detection tools🕵️‍♂️

In the wild | Stories worth reading

​​Google for Developers | Introducing Project IDX, An Experiment to Improve Full-stack, Multiplatform App Development

Google has launched an experimental app development platform called Project IDX. The browser-based tool is powered by an AI model called Codey, and Google says Project IDX should make the process of building, managing, and deploying apps simpler.

The Verge | For this startup, Nvidia GPUs are currency

CoreWeave, a startup that provides GPU access via the cloud for AI projects, has established an interesting financial relationship with one of its investors, Nvidia. Considering how the AI trend is driving enormous demand for Nvidia’s chips right now, it seems CoreWeave has had to get creative to secure the GPUs it needs.

AP | FACT FOCUS: Zoom says it isn’t training AI on calls without consent. But other data is fair game

Everyone’s favorite app for avoiding the office has come under scrutiny in recent days for adjusting its terms and conditions; the short version is that some people read the changes and thought Zoom wants to use video calls to train AI models. Zoom has published a blog post to try to clear up the brouhaha, but the AP has gone further, breaking down what the company really is and isn’t doing with users’ data.

AllThingsAI | Best Bets

Did you enjoy today’s AllThingsAI newsletter? Why not forward it to someone who would also appreciate it.

Advertise with AllThingsAI to get your startup in front of VCs, investors and 10,000 of organic readers - not paid. Get in touch today…