Welcome to the Techmeme right home for Wednesday, November 20th, 2024. I'm Brian McCullough today. Now authors are being approached about training AI on their books, and some are not pleased. The new Android development cadence is here. More signs crypto is ascendant, more signs that blue sky has taken off, and a case and point

for why governments and militaries are worried about smartphone tracking. Here's what you miss

today in the world of tech.

Bloomberg says that Microsoft has signed a deal with News Corpse publisher Harper Collins to use nonfiction

books to train an unannounced AI model. Harper Collins says authors can opt out of the scheme,

but as you can imagine, this has proven controversial. Quote, in a statement to Bloomberg News,

Harper Collins confirmed it reached an agreement with an unidentified AI technology company that would, quote, allow limited use of select nonfiction backlist

titles for training AI models to improve model quality and performance.

Harper Collins authors will have the option to participate or not, the company said,

quote, part of our role is to present authors with opportunities for their consideration

while simultaneously protecting the underlying value of their works and our shared revenue

and royalty streams. Harper Collins said, this agreement with its limited scope and clear

guardrails around model output that respects authors' rights does that, end quote.

Technology companies use an array of data from social media sites to news articles

to train AI models and companies like Microsoft are hunting for additional sources of high-quality

text that they can license to make their programs more accurate, better able to answer questions

or provide expertise on specific subjects. News Corp signed an agreement in May with OpenAI to let

the company use content from

more than a dozen of its publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Barrens, and Marketwatch.

OpenAI has also signed licensing deals with publishers including Alex Springer, the Atlantic,

Vox Media, Dot Dash Meredith, Hearst Communications, and Time Magazine. Microsoft has worked on AI initiatives

with Reuters, Hearst, and Axel Springer, which publishes Business Insider and Politico, end quote.

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