AI News Roundup – AI outlook for second Trump administration, OpenAI scores lawsuit victory over news outlets, Instagram using AI to verify the age of its users, and more

To help you stay on top of the latest news, our AI practice group has compiled a roundup of the developments we are following.

• • Former President Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in this past week’s U.S. presidential election, according to the Associated Press, and several news outlets have since opined on what Trump’s second term as U.S. President could mean for the booming AI industry. Bloomberg reports that the industry is preparing for significant policy shifts, with Trump pledging to revoke Biden’s AI executive order that established safety guidelines and voluntary standards for AI developers. Trump has characterized the existing policy as “dangerous” and says he would replace it with “AI development rooted in free speech,” while his administration may maintain some Biden-era restrictions related to AI infrastructure development and national security priorities, especially with regard to China. The report also suggests that Elon Musk, who contributed significantly to Trump’s campaign, could play an influential role in shaping AI policy, while Vice President-elect JD Vance’s venture capital background may lead to an emphasis on open-source technology and reduced regulation that could benefit smaller startups over large AI companies.

• • OpenAI scored a victory in federal court this past week in one of the several copyright infringement lawsuits brought against the company in recent months, according to Reuters. U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in the Southern District of New York dismissed a lawsuit filed by news outlets Raw Story and AlterNet, which had claimed that OpenAI improperly removed copyright management information from thousands of their articles while using them to train OpenAI’s ChatGPT AI chatbot. While Judge McMahon allowed the outlets to file an amended complaint, she expressed skepticism about their ability to demonstrate sufficient legal injury. The case, filed in February 2024, is part of a broader wave of legal challenges against AI companies by content creators, including a notable lawsuit against OpenAI from The New York Times, though the suit brought by Raw Story and AlterNet took a unique approach by focusing on copyright management information rather than direct copyright infringement claims as The New York Times lawsuit alleges.

• • The social networking site Instagram announced plans to use an AI-based tool to verify the age of younger users of its platform, according to Bloomberg. Instagram’s parent, Meta Platforms, will deploy a proprietary “adult classifier” software tool that categorizes users as either above or below age 18 by analyzing their profile data, follower lists, content interactions, and even birthday wishes from friends using AI. Users identified as under 18 will be automatically placed into teen accounts with more restrictive privacy settings, with those under 16 requiring parental consent to modify these settings. The initiative, set to launch early next year, comes as Meta faces increasing pressure over its products’ impact on the mental health of teenagers, including a lawsuit from 34 U.S. state attorneys general and ongoing scrutiny following whistleblower Frances Haugen’s 2021 revelations that Meta’s own research found that Instagram could negatively impact the mental health of teenage girls. The company will also implement additional verification measures, such as requiring formal identification or video selfies for teens attempting to change their stated age, though an appeals process for incorrectly categorized users is still under development.

• • Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has informed several Chinese chip design companies that it will cease production of advanced AI chips for Chinese clients, according to the Financial Times. Starting Monday, November 11, 2024, TSMC will no longer manufacture AI chips using advanced process nodes of 7 nanometers or smaller for Chinese customers, with any future supplies requiring potential approval from the U.S. government. This decision, influenced by ongoing U.S. Commerce Department investigations and anticipated new export controls, could significantly impact Chinese tech giants like Alibaba and Baidu, who have heavily invested in AI chip design. The move is particularly notable for Baidu, whose Kunlun II processor is manufactured using TSMC’s 7-nanometer technology. TSMC’s decision appears to be preemptive, aimed at demonstrating compliance with U.S. interests, especially as the company navigates concerns about the incoming second Trump administration’s likely policy changes and ongoing investigations into how some of its advanced chips ended up in Huawei AI devices, the latter of which this roundup covered last week.

• • Microsoft has released its first AI feature for its Xbox gaming platform, according to The Verge. The company is introducing an AI chatbot for handling online support queries as part of a broader, cautious approach to incorporating AI into its gaming ecosystem. The company is also rolling out AI-powered natural language search capabilities for the Xbox dashboard, allowing users to search for games using descriptive phrases rather than exact titles. Under the leadership of Haiyan Zhang, Microsoft’s general manager of gaming AI, the company is developing tools for game developers to create AI-powered characters, stories and quests through a partnership with Inworld AI. These initiatives come as Microsoft prepares for future gaming innovations, including a promised next-generation Xbox console that will feature significant AI capabilities to compete with rival Sony’s recently released PlayStation 5 (PS5) Pro, which includes AI-powered upscaling technology marketed as improving frame rates and image quality for PlayStation games.