Over 400 celebrities sign letter opposing AI training on copyrighted works without permission

What just happened? Hundreds of stars and Hollywood executives have signed an open letter urging the Trump administration to deny proposals from AI companies that would allow their systems to be trained on copyrighted work without obtaining permission. Over 400 actors, musicians, filmmakers, writers, and more signed the letter sent to the White House, including Ben Stiller, Mark Ruffalo, Cate Blanchett, Paul McCartney, and Ron Howard, reports The Wrap. The letter, which is not avialable publicly, is a response to submissions to the Office of Science and Technology Policy from OpenAI and Google proposing that the companies be allowed to train their AI models on copyrighted works without obtaining permission from (or compensating) rights holders. OpenAI said that relaxing copyright laws would promote "the freedom to learn" and help "protect" America's national security. Both Sam Altman's company and Google said the change would help "strengthen America's lead" against China's communis ... Read full article.