(NEW YORK) — Generative artificial intelligence companies capable of generating creative content are also said to be disrupting the livelihoods of creatives around the world, according to a group of creatives speaking out publicly about the issue.
“The unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI is a major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works, and must not be permitted, a ” statement signed by 11,500 actors, musicians, authors, photographers, and composers from across the world, read.
Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, Thom Yorke and Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus, are among the tens of thousands of creatives who have signed this open letter calling for these companies to stop indiscriminately training on content they say should be licensed.
“This is a major issue for many of the artists, musicians, actors, authors, and other creators whose work is being exploited by AI companies,” said Ed Newton-Rex, a former AI executive who released the statement.
As a former head of audio at Stability AI, Newton-Rex is well acquainted with the internal data training practices of generative AI companies. He resigned over the company’s belief that training their AI models on copyrighted content without licensing it constitutes “fair use.”
Generative AI models have generally scrapped as much content as they could from the internet, downloaded it and trained their model to be able to create new work that is in the style of the work it trained on, Newton-Rex told ABC News.
“None of this revenue is coming back to the original artists,” explained Overlai founder Luke Neumann in a blog post about his new mobile app which aims to protect photography in the age of AI.
Neumann, who also signed the letter, launched the free app Overlai with world-renowned photographers Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier, when they noticed text-to-image generators could easily replicate the unique styles of both photographers. And, Neumann stresses the amount of work that goes into conservationist photography – the cost of travel and spending weeks, sometimes months in a location documenting a delicate ecosystem.
“I think AI companies really need to think long and hard about like how long they’re going to need organic data and if they want to be messing with these fragile business models of the people out there capturing this stuff,” Neumann to ABC News.
Several lawsuits from creatives ranging from writers to musicians to comedians have piled up against some of the biggest generative AI companies for copyright infringement.
(LOS ANGELES) — NThe attorney for Lyle and Erik Menendez said he thinks the brothers are “cautiously optimistic that they can see some real relief” after the Los Angeles County district attorney announced he’s recommending resentencing.
Mark Geragos told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” that his goal is to have the brothers home for Thanksgiving.
While district attorney George Gascón said he hopes to get a hearing on the docket within the next 30 to 45 days, Geragos said he thinks there will be a hearing “well before that.”
Gascón said he’s recommending in a court filing on Friday that the brothers’ sentence of life without the possibility of parole be removed, and they should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life. Because of the brothers’ ages — they both were under 26 at the time of the crimes — they would be eligible for parole immediately, Gascón said at a Thursday news conference.
The final resentencing decision will be made by a judge and the parole board must also approve, Gascón said.
“We are continuing to be optimistic that Erik and Lyle will be released soon, and best-case scenario would be for us to have Erik and Lyle home for the busy week of Thanksgiving,” she said, which also includes three family birthdays.
“There is no excuse for murder,” Gascón stressed at the news conference, and he added that he doesn’t “believe that manslaughter would have been the appropriate charge [to request in the resentencing filing] given the premeditation that was involved.”
Lyle and Erik Menendez were each sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without parole after they were convicted in 1996 of fatally shooting their parents.
Lyle Menendez was 21 and Erik Menendez was 18 when they killed Jose and Kitty Menendez at the family’s Beverly Hills home in 1989. The brothers argued they acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father; prosecutors alleged they killed their wealthy parents for financial gain.
Gascón said this month that his office was evaluating new evidence: allegations from a member of the boy band Menudo who said he was molested by Jose Menendez, and a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse.
Erik Menendez’s cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but Erik Menendez’s letter — which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — wasn’t unearthed until several years ago, according to Geragos.
“I’ve never once doubted Erik and Lyle. I believe them,” the brothers’ cousin, Natascha Leonardo, told “GMA.” “The new evidence that has come out just continues to support our belief.”
Another cousin, Tamara Goodell, added that a new swell of support from the public is due to a younger generation’s understanding that boys and men are also victims of sexual abuse, which wasn’t as well recognized in the 1990s.
“This new generation is really putting up a fight to say, ‘This is not what should’ve been handed to them,'” she said. “At this point, after almost 35 years, they’ve served their time. … Now, it’s time for them to come home.”
One relative — the brothers’ uncle, Milton Andersen — is adamant about keeping them behind bars, though. He said he firmly believes his nephews were not sexually assaulted and were motivated by greed.
“The jury’s verdict was just, and the punishment fits the heinous crime,” he said in a statement.
Gascón told ABC News this month that any recommendation for resentencing would take into account the decades the brothers already served and their behavior in prison.
The brothers made a positive impact while incarcerated, despite “no hopes of ever getting out of prison,” Gascón said. They focused on “creating groups to deal with how to address untreated trauma, creating groups to deal with other inmates that have physical disabilities and may be treated differently. Even in one case, Lyle negotiating for other inmates as to the conditions that they live under,” he said.
Geragos said Lyle Menendez received a college degree behind bars while Erik Menendez provides hospice care to inmates.
“They’ve done great things while in prison. I don’t see anything that’s going to stop them from continuing that work once they’re out,” Geragos said.
The third and final season of the Prime Video series Good Omens will be short and sweet. The entire season will consist of one 90-minute episode. Neil Gaiman‘s fantasy series follows various characters, all trying to either encourage or prevent an imminent Armageddon, as seen through the eyes of the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley — played respectively by Michael Sheen and David Tennant. Jon Hamm also stars as Gabriel, the leader of the forces of Heaven. Gaiman, who had contributed to the writing of the series finale, will not be involved with the show when production resumes in 2025, after being accused of sexual assault by multiple women back in July …
Apple TV+ has set a premiere date for Prime Target, the new conspiracy thriller starring The White Lotus breakout Leo Woodall and Black Adam‘s Quintessa Swindell. The series, according to the streaming service, follows Woodall as a brilliant young mathematician on the verge of a major breakthrough that will give him the key to every computer in the world. An unseen enemy trying to destroy his idea throws him into the orbit of Taylah Sanders, a female NSA agent played by Swindell, who helps him unravel the conspiracy. The series launches with two episodes on Jan. 22 …
Variety reports Margot Robbie‘s production company LuckyChap is once again teaming up with its Barbie collaborators Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group for a feature film adaptation based on Emily Brontë‘s classic novel Wuthering Heights, in which she’ll star opposite Euphoria‘s Jacob Elordi. According to Variety, MRC is financing the film, LuckyChap is producing, and Emerald Fennell wrote and will direct and produce the adaptation …
We’re heading back to the Sunflower State with martinis in hand one last time, as the third and final season of the HBO dramedy series Somebody Somewhere returns Sunday.
Bridget Everett stars as Sam in the show, which is loosely based on her own life, and she reflected on what it’s like to have a TV show that so closely mirrors her experience.
“I think the last couple of years have been liberating and challenging because … I can be like, ‘Well, that’s a character.’ But a lot of times it is me or it is my feeling or is my experience. Sometimes it’s not,” she tells ABC Audio.
So, what can we expect in season 3?
Sam’s relationship with Joel, played by Jeff Hiller, has always been at the center of the series. Hannah Bos, co-creator and EP, shares how that will continue this season.
“In season 1, Joel sort of opens her up, then season 3, she’s open a little bit,” Bos says. “She has some room, they’ve influenced each other.”
How will Joel balance his bond with Sam and his budding relationship with Brad, played by Tim Bagley? Hiller hints, “Joel loves Brad and their relationship is beautiful. But there is this special connection that he has with Sam.” Paul Thureen, co-creator and EP, adds, “The story has always been about Sam and Joel, and I love where they end in this season.”
And it’s not just Sam’s relationship with Joel that sees an evolution this season: Mary Catherine Garrison, who plays Sam’s sister Tricia, says that their relationship will see its own shift. “I think they’ve found this common ground, and they’ve found a way to relate to each other. And it’s like a new chapter for both of them.”
(BALTIMORE, Md.) — The operators of the vessel that destroyed Baltimore’s Key Bridge in March have agreed to pay nearly $102 million for costs stemming from the federal response, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.
Under the settlement, the owners and operator of the Dali vessel — Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited — will pay $101,980,000 to resolve civil claims brought against them by the Justice Department in September, the department said.
ABC News has reached out to Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited for comment.
The civil probe is separate from the still-ongoing criminal investigation by the department into the events that led to the vessel’s collision with the bridge.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LOS ANGELES) — Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has recommended resentencing for Lyle and Erik Menendez, who are each serving two life prison terms without parole.
“We are going to recommend to the court [on Friday] that the life without the possibility of parole be removed and they would be sentenced for murder,” which would be a sentence of 50 years to life, Gascón said at a news conference Thursday. But because of their age — they both were under 26 at the time of the crimes — they would be eligible for parole immediately, he said.
“I believe that they have paid their debt to society,” he said.
“The final decision will be made by the judge,” he stressed.
Gascón told ABC News this month that any recommendation for resentencing would take into account the decades that the brothers already served and their behavior in prison. The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, called them model prisoners who worked tirelessly to reform themselves with no expectation they’d be released.
The decades-old case began on Aug. 20, 1989, when Lyle and Erik Menendez fatally shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in the family’s Beverly Hills home. Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, used shotguns they bought days earlier.
Prosecutors alleged the brothers killed their wealthy parents for financial gain.
The defense argued the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father.
Their first trials — which captured the nation’s attention with cameras in the courtroom — ended in mistrials.
In 1996, at the end of a second trial — in which the judge barred much of the sex abuse evidence — the brothers were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.
The sensational case gained new attention this fall with the release of the Netflix drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and the Netflix documentary “The Menendez Brothers.”
Gascón said this month that his office was evaluating new evidence: allegations from a member of the boy band Menudo who said he was molested by Jose Menendez, and a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse.
Erik Menendez’s cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but Erik Menendez’s letter — which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — wasn’t unearthed until several years ago, according to Geragos.
“Their actions, while tragic, were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruelty of their father,” Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, said. “As their aunt, I had no idea of the extent of the abuse they suffered.”
“It’s time to give them the opportunity to live the rest of their lives free from the shadow of their past,” she said.
Behind bars, the siblings “sought to better themselves and serve as a support and inspiration for survivors all over the world,” added Jose Menendez’s niece, Anamaria Baralt. “Their continued incarceration serves no rehabilitative purpose.”
The brothers “deserve a chance to heal, and our family deserves a chance to heal with them,” Baralt said.
Despite the massive show of support, one relative — the brothers’ uncle, Milton Andersen — is adamant about keeping them behind bars. He said in a statement he firmly believes his nephews were not sexually assaulted and were motivated by greed.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(OHIO) — Jurors heard contrasting theories during opening statements in the murder trial of former Columbus, Ohio, police officer Adam Coy who is accused of killing Andre Hill, an unarmed Black man, in December 2020.
While a prosecutor on Thursday painted the defendant’s actions as “reckless” and “unreasonable,” a defense attorney contended Coy was “justified in using deadly force.”
Coy, who is white, is facing charges of causing Hill’s death, felonious assault and reckless homicide stemming from the Dec. 22, 2020, shooting. Prosecutors said the 47-year-old Hill was holding a cell phone in one hand and a set of keys in the other when he was shot dead in the garage of a home belonging to a friend.
In her opening statement, Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Renee Amlin said Hill was complying with Coy’s orders to step out of the garage when he was shot four times.
“The state of Ohio expects that at the end of this case, it will have proven to you beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant Adam Coy is guilty of all three of those crimes,” Amlin told the jury seated in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
Amlin said that among the prosecution witnesses slated to testify is Columbus police Officer Amy Detweiler, who was with Coy when the shooting erupted around 1:30 a.m. Both officers responded to a neighbor’s 911 call complaining about a suspicious SUV parked on the street with its engine running.
She said that before the shooting, Coy approached Hill who was seated in the running SUV and that Hill explained he was waiting for a friend to come out of her home. She said Hill showed Coy a text message on his phone from his friend, reading, “I’ll be right out.”
Amlin said that when Coy went back to his patrol car, Hill exited the SUV and entered the open garage of his friend’s home. She said that when Ditweiler arrived separately at the scene, the two officers approached Hill and instructed him to step out of the garage and that Hill was shot when he complied with Coy’s orders.
The jury, according to Amlin, will also be shown Coy’s body-worn camera video that captured the shooting.
Amlin told the jurors that the state would prove beyond reasonable doubt that Coy was “reckless” and that his use of deadly force was not justified.
“The evidence will show that Andre Hill was not armed. He did not have a firearm,” the prosecutor said.
But defense attorney Kaitlyn Stephens told the jury that Coy was following police training when he perceived Hill as a threat.
“You are going to hear from the state’s own witnesses that actual possession of a weapon is irrelevant, that police officers are allowed to be mistaken,” Stephens said.
She told the jury that Coy believed a “mass of keys” Hill had in his right hand was a revolver and that the officer was forced to make a split-second decision to open fire in self-defense.
“You are going to hear that on Dec. 22, 2020, my client believed he was going to get shot. He yells ‘gun, gun,’ steps off the line, draws his weapons and fires at what he honestly believed was a revolver being leveled at his direction,” Stephens told the panel. “You are going to hear that he was mistaken, that it was not a revolver, but instead that glint of steel turned out to be a metal mass of keys.”
Stephens said the defense plans to call two Ohio veteran officers to testify as experts on police training and to counter the testimony of the state’s police training expert.
“You are going to hear that officers do not have to wait until they see the glint of steel, that what matters is how the hand was being presented because an action is faster than a reaction,” Stephens said.
Stephens added, “The evidence will show that our client was not reckless. He did what he was trained to do, and what he was trained to do was shoot to stop the threat.”
Coy was fired from the Columbus Police Department about a week after the shooting.
About a month after the shooting, Coy was arrested and indicted in the killing of Hill. Coy has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has not made any public comments on the case.
If convicted, Coy, who is free on $1 million bail, could face a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Neither Coy nor Detweiler turned their body-worn cameras on until after the shooting, but Coy’s camera had a “look-back” function that automatically activated and recorded 60 seconds of the episode without sound, including capturing the shooting.
The body camera footage also showed that as Hill lay dying on the floor of the garage, none of the officers who responded to the incident appeared to immediately provide first aid, officials said.
National civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Hill’s family, alleged that the officers waited up to 15 minutes before before they started giving Hill first aid, citing his review of the body camera footage.
After officers on the scene turned their body cameras on, a woman came out of the house and told officers that Hill was a guest and said, according to body camera footage released in the case, “He was bringing me Christmas money. He didn’t do anything.”
In May 2021, the City of Columbus agreed to a $10 million wrongful death settlement with Hill’s family, the highest amount ever paid by the city.
The indictment of Coy came just days after the Columbus City Council also passed Andre’s Law, which was named after Hill and requires Columbus police officers to turn on their body cameras when responding to calls and to immediately render first aid after a use-of-force incident.
ABC News’ Olivia Osteen contributed to this report.
(TEXAS) — A Texas woman is facing criminal charges after she impersonated a dentist despite not having a license, even giving a patient a “botched” root canal, according to court documents.
Angelica Vivas, 46, was charged with two felony counts under the Dental Practice Act, records show. She is currently out on bond.
Vivas is accused of practicing dentistry and dental surgery without a license issued by the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners, according to court documents.
Vivas, presenting herself as a dentist, allegedly agreed to perform a root canal on a patient that was then “botched,” according to court documents.
The victim suffered “a tremendous amount of pain” due to the defendant’s actions, according to court documents.
In another incident, undercover officers went to Vivas’ office, where she offered to perform dental work on an officer, despite not being licensed in Texas, court documents show.
A patient who claimed Vivas treated her said she was left unable to do anything on the left side of her mouth, the patient, who asked not to be named, told Houston ABC station KTRK.
The patient will still need surgery, with the damage so severe it will cost her thousands of dollars to fix, she said.
“Financially, it really hurts. I’m using my savings, looking to borrow money, because I don’t have it. I’m looking for a doctor willing to work with me,” the woman told KTRK.
While the case proceeds, Vivas is prohibited from advertising or providing any dental services.
This is heavy: Back to the Future: The Musical will officially close on Broadway on Jan. 5, 2025.
The musical won an Olivier Award in the U.K. — where it has been playing for four years — and sold $80 million in tickets over its 18 months and over 500 performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City. After it pulls up stakes on the Great White Way, it will be headed to Germany in the 2025-26 season.
Back to the Future: The Musical currently stars Tony Award winner Roger Bart as Doc Brown, Casey Likes playing Marty McFly, Evan Alexander Smith as George McFly, Liana Hunt as Lorraine Baines, Nathaniel Hackmann as Biff Tannen and Jelani Remy as Goldie Wilson/Marvin Berry.
