Welcome to The Upgrade

Welcome to my weekly newsletter, which focuses on the intersection of AI, media, and storytelling. A special welcome to my new readers from UCLA, Harvard, Bank of America, and many other top organizations — you’re in good company!

In today’s issue:

• The Week’s Top AI Stories 📰

• 🎓 30% off until April 25th: AI Upgrade for Creatives⚡️

• 🎧Podcast: Rolli Co-founders on How AI Can Improve Equity in Media

• 🎙️Podcast: Overtone Co-founders on Bridging News & Brands Needs with AI

• 💡 Big Think: US Data Privacy Law is Long Overdue

The Week’s Top AI Stories

Top AI Headlines

• How Tech Giants Cut Corners to Harvest Data for A.I. — The New York Times

• Lawmakers unveil new bipartisan digital privacy bill after years of impasse — The Verge

• Google Expands In-House Chip Efforts in Costly AI Battle — The Wall Street Journal

• AI’s next arms race may revolve around generative video — FastCompany

• AI race heats up as OpenAI, Google and Mistral release new models — The Guardian

Ethics & Safety

• Those "AI Influencers" Are Deepfaking Fake Faces Onto Real Women's Bodies Without Permission — Futurism

• Financial scammers have a new weapon to steal your money: AI — Marketwatch

  

  (Image: Marketwatch)

• How to Protect Yourself (and Your Loved Ones) From AI Scam Calls — WIRED

• AI's flawed human yardstick — Axios

• How AI finally won its war on CAPTCHA images — BBC Science Focus Magazine

Legal & Copyright

• Fake Photos, Real Harm: AOC and the Fight Against AI Porn — Rolling Stone

• A new bill would force companies like OpenAI to disclose their training data — FastCompany

• How to Stop Your Data From Being Used to Train AI — WIRED

• AI companies would have to cough up most precious asset under proposal from California lawmaker — San Francisco Chronicle

AI in the Workplace

• ‘Social Order Could Collapse’ in AI Era, Two Top Japan Companies Say — The Wall Street Journal

• AI is coming for Wall Street: Banks are reportedly weighing cutting analyst hiring by two-thirds — Business Insider

• A Wharton professor explains why most jobs will be impacted by AI — Fast Company

🎓May AI Course for Creatives! 💻

I’m thrilled to partner with Kris Krüg, founder of Future Proof Creatives, to offer a special 6-week AI course for creatives of all types! ⚡️Kris and I met through the Google News Initiative’s Pre-Launch Accelerator and have been guest lecturers in each other’s AI courses for months. Kris is a former tech marketing director, a professional photographer, AI consultant and explorer!

The class starts on Wednesday, May 8th, at 7 pm ET / 4 pm PT. Learn more here!✨The course fee is $1,499 — discounts are available for freelancers, NGOs, and educators.

For 30% OFF before April 25th use code: FUTUREPROOF

💡The Big Think: US Data Privacy Law is Long Overdue

Recent revelations about how major tech companies have aggressively harvested vast amounts of data underscore a critical and growing crisis in digital privacy. Reports by The New York Times and other outlets have shown that companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta have not only bypassed corporate policies but have also skirted and possibly violated legal standards to gather the data needed to power their AI models​​. The dogged reporting highlights the necessity for robust, enforceable digital privacy laws—a need that lawmakers have begun to address with the introduction of the new bipartisan digital privacy bill, the comprehensive American Privacy Rights Act.

The proposed legislation, drafted by a bi-partisan duo of Senators from Washington state, Democrat Maria Cantwell and Republican Cathy Rodgers, represents a significant step forward after years of legislative impasse. If passed, it could profoundly reshape how personal information is collected, used, and protected. The urgency for such regulations has never been clearer. As tech companies continue to push the boundaries of what is technically possible with AI, they are also testing the limits of what is ethically permissible in terms of data usage. The reported internal debates within these companies about the ethics and legality of their data acquisition strategies indicate a complex acknowledgment of the potential consequences of their actions​​.

The United States, home to Silicon Valley and the world’s tech giants, is nearly alone among developed countries in not having a federal law to protect citizens’ privacy online. Nearly 80% of the world’s population lives in nations with online data privacy legislation — but not us in the US. Stringent privacy laws are needed to protect individual privacy and preserve trust in digital ecosystems. When companies manipulate user data without clear consent or transparency, they compromise user trust. Effective legislation must ensure clarity and fairness in data handling, offering individuals greater control over their personal information.

Moreover, the introduction of such a law would not stifle innovation but guide it along a path that considers ethical implications as seriously as technological advancements. It would encourage companies to innovate responsibly, developing AI technologies that are not only powerful but also respectful of the rights and dignity of individuals.

The unveiling of the American Privacy Rights Act is a promising development in a long-overdue conversation about digital privacy. It is imperative that this legislation, or something akin to it, is passed swiftly. As AI continues to evolve, the frameworks governing data privacy must evolve too, ensuring that they can adequately protect against the overreach demonstrated by tech giants in their quest to lead in AI. The ongoing discourse around these issues will likely shape not just future business practices but also inform other legislative frameworks around digital ethics and data privacy​.

Don’t be shy—hit reply if you have thoughts or feedback. I’d love to connect with you!

Until next week,

Peter

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