Colorado State Fair AI Artwork Win Sparks Outrage Among Artists
Jason Allen won first place in the digital art category at the Colorado State Fair with 'Théâtre D'opéra Spatial', an image generated by the AI system Midjourney. Allen used prompts and post-processing, but the win has caused controversy among artists who fear AI will replace human creativity. Allen labelled his submission as AI-generated, but critics argue that the method of creation devalues traditional artistry. The incident has ignited debate about the role of AI in creative fields.
- Company involved
- Colorado State Fair
- AI system involved
- Midjourney
1 source article · read the reporting →
Models' likenesses used in AI propaganda videos without consent
Several models in London discovered that their likenesses had been used without their knowledge in AI-generated propaganda videos supporting the dictator of Burkina Faso. The videos were created using Synthesia's AI avatar platform, which the models had previously posed for. The models reported psychological distress and reputational harm, and Synthesia acknowledged the misuse and banned the accounts but the videos remain online.
- AI system involved
- Synthesia
6 source articles · read the reporting →
MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab's AI Portrait Ars produces whitewashed portraits of people of colour
AI Portrait Ars, developed by researchers at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, is reported to have generated Renaissance-style portraits that lightened the skin and altered the facial features of people of colour. The tool, trained on tens of thousands of paintings from the Western artistic tradition, was criticised for reproducing that bias in its data set. The creators acknowledged the bias but did not respond to a request for comment.
- Company involved
- MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab
- AI system involved
- AI Portrait Ars
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Anthropic's Claude AI loses $1,000 running a vending machine experiment
In a test by Anthropic and The Wall Street Journal, an AI agent named Claudius Sennet was given control of an office vending machine. Despite initial instructions to generate profit, the AI was manipulated by journalists into setting all prices to zero and ordering items like a PlayStation 5 and a live fish. The experiment ended after three weeks with a $1,000 loss. Anthropic's red team head called it 'enormous progress'.
- Company involved
- Anthropic
- AI system involved
- Claude (Claudius Sennet agent)
5 source articles · read the reporting →
CivitAI hosts AI models generating non-consensual porn of real people
A 404 Media investigation found that CivitAI, a platform for sharing AI image generation models, hosts numerous models that can produce pornographic images of real people without their consent. These models are trained on images scraped from the internet, and have been downloaded tens of thousands of times, enabling widespread creation of non-consensual sexual content. Sex workers and public figures are particularly affected, with no remediation or recourse reported.
- Company involved
- CivitAI
7 source articles · read the reporting →
MBN introduces AI news anchor AI Kim in South Korea
MBN, a South Korean cable channel, introduced an AI-powered news anchor based on anchor Kim Ju-ha. The AI, named AI Kim, was created through deep learning using 10 hours of video of Kim. It presents news in her voice and manner, intended to allow 24/7 broadcasting.
- Company involved
- MBN
- AI system involved
- AI Kim
10 source articles · read the reporting →
South Korean AI recreates deceased singer's voice for TV show
South Korean broadcaster SBS used AI technology from Supertone to recreate the voice of deceased folk singer Kim Kwang-seok for a TV show. The AI system, Singing Voice Synthesis, learned from 20 of Kim's songs to perform a cover of 'I Miss You'. The family gave permission after hearing the AI version. The show aired on January 29, 2021.
- Company involved
- SBS
- AI system involved
- Singing Voice Synthesis (SVS)
10 source articles · read the reporting →
AI companies trained on Hollywood writers' dialogue without consent
The Atlantic investigation found that dialogue from over 53,000 movies and 85,000 TV episodes was included in the OpenSubtitles data set used by Apple, Anthropic, Meta, Nvidia, Salesforce, and Bloomberg to train AI systems. The article alleges that this use of copyrighted material was done without permission from the writers.
4 source articles · read the reporting →
AI-generated songs using Stefanie Sun's voice go viral on Bilibili
AI-generated songs featuring the cloned voice of Mandopop singer Stefanie Sun have gone viral on Chinese video platform Bilibili. The songs were created using singing voice conversion technology without Sun's consent, raising questions about copyright protection. Sun has not publicly responded to the phenomenon.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Morgan Neville AI use for Anthony Bourdain voice draws backlash
Director Morgan Neville used artificial intelligence to recreate the late Anthony Bourdain's voice for the documentary 'Roadrunner.' Neville stated he intended the AI-generated audio as an Easter egg, but the decision sparked public criticism. He subsequently stated he will never use AI again.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
AI-powered scam sent to Daniel Handford
Daniel Handford received a scam that used AI to appear more convincing. He tweeted about it to Martin Lewis, who said he had seen similar scams. The scam involved AI-generated content, possibly deepfake video or voice.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Magnum photographer Carl De Keyzer uses AI to create controversial photo series
Magnum photographer Carl De Keyzer used AI to create a photo series titled 'Putin's Dream' after a planned road trip to Russia was cancelled due to the war. He trained the AI with his own photographs to maintain his style. The images were posted online to promote the book, leading to outcry on social media and accusations of contributing to disinformation. De Keyzer deleted the images and had a conversation with Magnum about the project.
- Company involved
- Carl De Keyzer
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Kaedim used human artists instead of AI for 3D model generation
Kaedim, an AI startup that claimed to use machine learning to convert 2D illustrations into 3D models, actually used human artists to produce the models, according to sources. The company's founder was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 for the technology. At one point, workers produced the 3D designs entirely without AI assistance. The revelation highlights how AI companies can overstate their capabilities.
- Company involved
- Kaedim
- AI system involved
- Kaedim
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Answer.AI tests Devin and reports 14 failures in 20 tasks
Answer.AI's team tested Devin, an autonomous AI coding assistant, on 20 real-world tasks over a month. Devin succeeded in only 3 tasks, failed 14, and was inconclusive in 3. The team found Devin often produced overly complex or hallucinated solutions and could not recognize fundamental blockers. They ultimately decided to stick with tools that allow more human control.
- AI system involved
- Devin
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Short drama company YaoKe Media signs AI actors, sparking backlash over uncanny valley and likeness rights
On March 18, 2026, Chinese short drama company YaoKe Media announced the signing of two AI digital actors, Qin Lingyue and Lin Xiyan, and the production of an AI drama 'Qinling'. The AI actors, which resemble real celebrities like Zhao Jinmai, prompted netizens to call for rights protection on behalf of the real actors. Critics also complained about the 'uncanny valley' effect, with the term 'AI actor fake human feeling' trending on Weibo. The incident highlights ongoing concerns about unauthorized use of facial data in AI training and the potential displacement of human actors.
- Company involved
- 耀客传媒 (YaoKe Media)
- AI system involved
- 秦凌岳, 林汐颜 (AI actors) and AI drama 《秦岭》
5 source articles · read the reporting →
French interior official used Google AI to refuse visas to two asylum seekers
A French interior ministry official used Google's AI to refuse visas to two female asylum seekers. The official boasted about this experiment in a memo presented to the administrative court. The case is now before the court.
- Company involved
- French Ministry of Interior
- AI system involved
- Google AI
3 source articles · read the reporting →
AI used to finish painting that artist left incomplete
A social media post used AI to complete an unfinished painting, saying the story behind it was sad. Other users objected that the artist had deliberately left the work unfinished. One response said the artist's estate should sue.
7 source articles · read the reporting →
AI-generated audio of JD Vance criticizing Elon Musk spreads online
An audio clip purporting to be US Vice President JD Vance criticizing Elon Musk went viral on social media. Vance and his communications director stated the audio is not real and is AI-generated. Fact-checkers concluded the audio is likely fake, with multiple detection tools indicating a high probability of AI generation. Vance threatened legal action against the user who posted it.
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Scammer sold fake AI-generated Frank Ocean tracks for thousands
A scammer using the handle mourningassasin sold fake Frank Ocean tracks generated by AI to music collectors on underground forums, making around $13,000 CAD. The tracks were created using a model trained on high-quality vocal snippets of Frank Ocean. The scammer admitted the tracks were AI-generated after being confronted by forum administrators, and was banned from the forum.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
AI image generators produce misleading election images, study finds
A study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that leading AI image generators, including Midjourney, DreamStudio, ChatGPT Plus, and Microsoft Image Creator, could be manipulated to create misleading election-related images. The researchers used jailbreaking techniques to bypass safety measures, producing photorealistic images of candidates in compromising situations or of voting fraud. The companies responded by stating they are updating policies and implementing safeguards, but the study suggests existing protections are inadequate.
- Company involved
- Midjourney, Stability AI, OpenAI, Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Midjourney, DreamStudio, ChatGPT Plus, Microsoft Image Creator
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Italian privacy regulator investigates OpenAI's Sora video generation model
The Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante Privacy) has opened an investigation into OpenAI's new AI model 'Sora', which creates short videos from text instructions. The regulator has asked OpenAI to provide information on the algorithm's training, data sources, and compliance with European data protection regulations. OpenAI must respond within 20 days.
- Company involved
- OpenAI
- AI system involved
- Sora
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Leonardo AI misused to create nonconsensual explicit images of celebrities
Leonardo AI, an AI image-generating platform backed by Samsung, has been misused to create nonconsensual explicit images of celebrities. The platform allows users to generate images using user-generated Stable Diffusion models. Users bypassed ethical guardrails by misspelling celebrity names and using sexually suggestive terms. The misuse was reported by 404 Media.
- Company involved
- Leonardo AI
- AI system involved
- Leonardo AI
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Beijing Internet Court rules AI voice cloning infringes personality rights
A Chinese dubbing artist, Yin, discovered that his voice was being used without permission in a text-to-speech AI product. The product was developed by a software company using recordings provided by a cultural media company, and was made available on a platform operated by a smart technology company. The Beijing Internet Court ruled that the AI-generated voice was highly similar to the plaintiff's voice and infringed his personality rights. The court ordered the defendants to stop infringement and pay damages of 250,000 RMB.
5 source articles · read the reporting →
AI script event in Tokyo canceled after plagiarism criticism
An event organizing company in Tokyo planned a performance where voice actors would read a script generated by ChatGPT, a generative AI. The company announced the event on social media, leading to criticism that the AI had possibly plagiarized copyrighted works without permission. After receiving about 500 critical comments, the company canceled the event on March 9, 2024, citing insufficient explanation of their use of AI and potential negative impact on the voice actors.
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT (paid subscription version)
3 source articles · read the reporting →
