Meta AI: Irish wolfhounds join writer's protest
Irish wolfhounds have joined a protest by writers, who are protesting about what they describe as "any piracy" of their works being used by Meta's AI model.The protest at the Dáil and Government buildings in Dublin was led by the Irish Writers Union (IWU).The union, which is coordinating a campaign with Irish publishers, screenwriters, and poets, is demanding that Meta "complies with Irish and EU copyright laws in the training of its AI model".Members say the protest follows "the revelations arising from a court case in the US, that Meta used millions of copyright-protected works in order to train its AI model, Llama 3".
Writer's work used for AI training
Audrey Magee, an award-winning author whose publications include The Colony and The Undertaking told BBC News NI she was shocked when she discovered that her works had been used for AI training.The author said she's concerned that her works have been accessed and "used in a way you have no control over". She also said the presence of Irish wolfhounds at the protest today was a powerful symbolic gesture because of their ancient links to Irish literature, poetry, mythology, and bards.Other members of the Irish Writers Union who claim their works have been harvested for AI training purposes include Ruth O'Leary, author and The Weekend Break and Sam Blake, author of The Killing Sense.
The Chairman of the IWU, Conor McAnally said: "It is difficult enough to make a living as a writer without billionaires deciding it's too inconvenient to pay for our work."The Irish Writers Union will robustly defend our members, and their right to fair compensation for any use of their work. We call on the Irish Government to support those writers whose work has been pirated and hold Meta to account."A petition, with 1500 signatures, has been presented to the Irish Department for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation.In a statement, Minister Niamh Smyth TD, said: "Given the rapid advancement of AI technologies, EU and Irish policies and legislation are adapting to address emerging challenges."The IWU is encouraging its members to make a formal, legal complaint to Meta demanding the immediate cessation of any use of their copyrighted material in the company's AI training processes until appropriate permissions are obtained.Members also want Meta to negotiate "fair and reasonable licensing terms" if it wants to use their work, as well as the offer of compensation for any past unauthorised use of their work in AI model training programmes.An investigation by The Atlantic magazine, external revealed Meta may have accessed millions of pirated books and research papers through LibGen - Library Genesis - to train its generative AI (Gen-AI) system, Llama.A spokesperson for Meta said: "We respect third-party intellectual property rights and believe our use of information to train AI models is consistent with existing law."
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The Guardian
34 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘We were all pretty privileged': Allison Williams on Girls, nepo babies and toxic momfluencers
If you had wandered the set of the film M3gan 2.0 last year, chances are you would have stumbled into M3gan, the terrifying humanoid doll, staring lifelessly while she waited to be called for her next scene. Sometimes she would stand in the corner of the soundstage, says Allison Williams with a nervy laugh. 'The dilemma is: do you turn her around so she's facing the wall, or do you let her face the room? Both answers are wrong.' In the sequel to the sci-fi horror M3gan, Williams resumes her role as Gemma, a roboticist who has become a crusader against rampant and reckless AI development after her creation – developed for her orphaned niece – became murderous. (She is also a producer on the second film.) Acting opposite M3gan was unsettling, says Williams, speaking over a video call from a hotel room in New York. Sometimes she was played by the 15-year-old dancer Amie Donald, but often she was a robotic doll, animated by a small team. 'When she's been working for a while, her eyelids can get sticky,' says Williams. M3gan's handlers would paint lubricant on to her eyeballs with a brush and Williams would have to catch herself: 'She's not flinching and for a second you're like: 'Ugh.' Then you remember: this is not a live thing.' Still best known for her first role as Marnie in Lena Dunham's landmark TV series Girls, Williams has gravitated towards comedy-tinged horror in recent years. Her first post-Girls film role was in the Oscar-winning dark comedy horror Get Out. It and M3gan were relatively low-budget projects that became cultural phenomena – Get Out for its commentary on racial politics, M3gan for what it says about the dangers of AI (as well as the uncanniness of M3gan herself). Williams has long been interested in AI – she knows Sam Altman, the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, which created ChatGPT, who put her in touch with robotics experts when she was researching the role of Gemma. 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She smiles. 'But it's not not on the list of things I worry about.' M3gan raises questions about the tech to which we expose our children. 'You wouldn't give your child cocaine,' says Gemma in M3gan 2.0. 'Why would you give them a smartphone?' Williams' son is three and she is wary of it. 'He has so many questions and they're incredible; I often don't know the answers.' The other day, she says, she used ChatGPT to answer one about rocket launches. 'Watching what happened to his face was like when Gemma sees her niece interacting with M3gan. Like, I have connected my kid to a drug, this is so immediately addictive and intoxicating.' She quickly put her phone away and made a mental note to go to the library next time to get out a book. 'I can't justify it, logically,' she says. 'It just felt like an innate instinct.' 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I think it's poisonous [and] it really only exists to make people feel bad about themselves, maybe under the guise of wanting to motivate people, but the impact is so painful.' She laughs as she describes the dishonesty of an influencer making a perfect packed lunch, filled with nutritious food – because it's actually 4pm, perhaps, or because they have nannies – that makes other parents, primarily mothers, feel as if they are failing. 'I would be in a puddle on the ground if we didn't have the nanny that we have, who is the reason my husband is shooting in London right now and I'm here,' says Williams. 'None of this is possible without her, and we're so grateful. I'm just like, show your work. Show me a clock. Like, what day was this filmed?' She is laughing, but she is on a roll. 'I cannot stand artifice about creating an expectation of what someone should be able to achieve that is totally unreasonable. Who is that helping?' 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'I'm grateful that my parents didn't cave and that I didn't make my way into this business any sooner than I did, because already, at 23, when Girls came out, that was a lot to process.' In a way, Williams had the reverse experience – her parent was famous. At a time before media was so fragmented, being an NBC news anchor meant Brian Williams reached millions of people. His reputation took a battering in 2015, when it was revealed he had embellished – mistakenly, he said – a story about being shot down in a helicopter while covering the Iraq war. He was suspended for six months and left NBC shortly after. What was that like to go through as a family? 'Anything that feels loud, like people are talking about you and all of that, is horrible,' says Williams. 'I think it's the underbelly of the media – it happens all the time, they eat their own. Everything just goes back to its fundamental priorities – family, friends, people who matter.' 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Scottish Sun
8 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Love Island's Helena slammed by fans as ‘insecure' as they ‘work out' her real game plan
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LOVE Island's Helena has been slammed by fans for being 'insecure' as they 'work out' her real game plan. Viewers watching tonight's episode of Love Island were quick to call out 29-year-old Helena for being "nasty" and "insecure". Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Helena spoke about Toni while on the sun loungers Credit: ITV 4 She was chatting to Harrison Credit: ITV 4 Fans slammed Helena and her 'game plan' Credit: ITV Sitting down with new boy Harrison, 22, to chat and flirt, Helena was talking about his other love interest, Toni, 24. Helena explained how she thought Toni was "marking her territory" with Harrison. She also said that it sometimes felt like Toni didn't like her talking to Harrison. Harrison was stunned and intrigued as Helena spoke about the American bombshell. Fans were quick to react to the comments Helena made about other girls - specifically Toni - to Harrison. "Helena's chat is literally just talking down other girls," noted one person on X. "I'm seeing a very nasty pattern with Helena….." said a second. A third penned: "Helena's main personality trait is putting other girls down. And she has the audacity to call THEM boring." "Can we get a compilation of Helena talking shit about the girls behind their backs on movie night please," pleaded a fourth. "Helena seems very insecure…" noted a fifth. Saucy sex position dare sparks Love Island row as TWO couples are on the rocks after spin the bottle game "Helena always has to put down other women to make herself more desirable. Gross," said a sixth. This comes after an explosive episode saw chaos ensue the house following a game of Spin The Bottle. In tonight's episode, a raunchy game of Spin The Bottle played out as the Islanders were faced with telling truths and direct dares. Irish rugby player Conor got a dare to put the person who he thinks is best in bed, in his "most favourite sex position". He picked Irish beauty Megan before getting her to lay on her tummy on the floor and declaring his favourite position to be "speed bumps". Conor then hovered above her as they giggled and he said: "Pump." Tommy, who Megan is currently coupled up with, watched on in horror and shook his head. Welsh beauty Emily, who Conor said he was most invested in, then said: "If he carries on, he'll never find out how I am in bed."
Scottish Sun
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- Scottish Sun
Saucy sex position dare sparks Love Island row as TWO couples are on the rocks after spin the bottle game
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