Amazon's MGM Studios has unexpectedly shelved the upcoming film about OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, a move sparking controversy due to the movie's reportedly unflattering portrayal of Altman. This decision comes amid a broader trend of tech giants intertwining with Hollywood, exemplified by Google DeepMind's significant investment in indie studio A24 for AI tools.
The film, reportedly titled "Artificial," was nearing completion and featured a star-studded cast, including Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman. Sources suggest Amazon's decision to drop the project, citing that it would be "better served if it were released by another studio," is influenced by Amazon's substantial $50 billion investment in OpenAI and Altman's close ties with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Critics view this as Amazon doing a favor for Altman, especially since the film allegedly highlights his perceived duplicity during the November 2023 leadership crisis at OpenAI, with former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever positioned as a hero.
Meanwhile, the tech and film industries continue to merge, with Google DeepMind announcing a $75 million partnership with A24 to develop AI tools. While some express concern over AI's potential to homogenize filmmaking, others see valuable applications in specific areas like storyboarding and rotoscoping, which can automate labor-intensive processes. However, the "ick factor" of unknowingly consuming AI-generated content and the question of its artistic quality remain significant considerations.
Beyond the glitz of Hollywood, a growing backlash against data centers is gaining momentum. Residents are protesting these facilities due to increased electricity bills, water scarcity, and noise pollution. Increasingly, workers involved in building data centers, from electricians to Amazon employees, are speaking out against them, urging for regulation. This pushback highlights a disconnect between the economic boom data centers represent and the local communities and workers affected by their construction and operation.
Adding to the week's tech turmoil, Meta has paused its controversial employee data-gathering program. This initiative, designed to track every keystroke and screen activity to train AI models, was put on hold after a significant internal leak exposed sensitive employee data. The program's pause comes after Meta laid off thousands of employees, citing the need to invest in AI, creating a wave of internal dissent and privacy concerns, further amplified by Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth's prior assurances of data security.
Finally, in a surprising turn of events, talks between AI company Anthropic and the US government appear to be improving. This shift is reportedly due to the government's ability to engage with Anthropic's public policy chief, Sarah Heck, and co-founder Tom Brown, rather than CEO Dario Amodei. The negotiations center on export controls for Anthropic's advanced AI models, which the NSA flagged as potentially vulnerable to jailbreaking, impacting the company's ability to release them globally.
