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Could Trump’s AI-Generated Endorsement of Taylor Swift Be Illegal?

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Could Trump’s AI-generated Taylor Swift endorsement be illegal?

Former President Donald Trump released a set of memes on Truth Social — a platform owned by his media company — that make it appear to be Taylor Swift and her fans are endorsing his candidacy. But with latest regulations coming into effect, those images could have deeper implications for the use of AI-generated imagery in political campaigns, especially when the photographs misrepresent a celeb’s image.

“One of the things I see a lot in my practice right now is the rise of AI impersonators for endorsements,” mental property and entertainment attorney Noah Downs told TechCrunch on the condition that his comments not be considered legal advice. These fake AI endorsements have turn out to be so common that even “Shark Tank” needed to publish Public announcement to warn fans in regards to the rampant number of scams posing as investors within the show.

In one photo Trump posted, throngs of young women wear matching T-shirts that read “Swifties for Trump.” While Swift’s large fan base is indeed politically diverse, these photos seem like generated by artificial intelligence—in actual fact, these particular photos come from satirical post on X

Another meme Trump posted is a screenshot from X of Taylor Swift playing Uncle Sam, declaring, “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.”

Image sources: Screenshot posted by Donald Trump on Truth Social

While the pop icon has yet to comment on the 2024 US presidential election, she has expressed support Biden-Harris campaign in 2020 and publicly defamed Trump on the time. Some fans speculated that Swift subtly endorsed Harris in an Instagram post this month, although it wasn’t that case.

As one of essentially the most dominant figures in popular culture, Swift has been the topic of her justifiable share of deepfakes. When nonconsensual, explicit AI images of Swift surfaced on the X earlier this 12 months, some lawmakers responded by introducing latest laws geared toward protecting against deepfakesEven White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called on Congress to take motion.

Eight months later, the landscape of legal protections against misleading synthetic media looks different. In Tennessee, where Swift’s corporate headquarters are situated, Gov. Bill Lee signed a pioneering bill in March ELVIS Act to a law that explicitly protects artists against unauthorized imitations of their works by artificial intelligence.

“This legislation passed with bipartisan support because everyone seems to recognize the problems that AI and the misuse of AI tools can create for society,” Downs said.

But since the ELVIS Act is so latest, there’s no precedent for the way it may very well be used to guard artists. Much of the laws’s language focuses specifically on AI-generated audio that may mimic an artist’s voice, just like the viral Drake song that turned out to be fake.

“I think this is going to be a long-term issue that the ELVIS Act will address very well, but we need to have more stringent national laws on this,” Downs said. The only reason the ELVIS Act could potentially come into play is because of Swift’s ties to the state where she does business and has real estate interests.

Avi D. Kelin, a partner at PEM Law who practices political law, isn’t optimistic in regards to the possibility of the ELVIS Act being applied, because it appears to be more about audio impersonation than video. Instead, he wonders whether it could turn out to be a federal election integrity issue in the longer term.

“A particular question is whether the Federal Election Commission, which has jurisdiction over political communications, will get involved,” Kelin told TechCrunch. However, he said the FEC is unlikely to implement latest guidelines on AI-generated political communications this election cycle.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that it intends to proceed with its plans to introduce latest AI Transparency Requirements in TV and radio ads. But that doesn’t apply to social media posts by politicians running for presidency office, and social media stays a key part of campaign communications. Meanwhile, research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a British nonprofit focused on online extremism, found that the quantity of AI-generated disinformation has increased by a median of 130% per thirty days on X over the past 12 months.

These insincere endorsements matter a lot because Swift’s endorsement is arguably essentially the most coveted celebrity endorsement a politician can get. Her cultural influence is so vast that her endorsement of a candidate can tip the scales in a detailed race, in accordance with Morning consultationgreater than half of U.S. adults consider themselves Taylor Swift fans, while 16% discover as die-hard fans. These numbers are staggering given the context that only about two thirds eligible Americans solid ballots within the 2020 election.

“(The ELVIS Act) is completely new, and the exact parameters will have to be worked out by the courts,” Kelin said. “It would certainly be an interesting test case!”

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal is leaving PhonePe’s board

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Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has stepped down three-quarters from PhonePe’s board after making an identical move on the e-commerce giant.

Bengaluru-based PhonePe said it has appointed Manish Sabharwal, executive director at recruitment and human resources firm Teamlease, as an independent director and chairman of the audit committee.

Bansal played a key role in Flipkart’s acquisition of PhonePe in 2016 and has since served on the fintech’s board. The Walmart-backed startup, which operates India’s hottest mobile payment app, spun off from Flipkart in 2022 and was valued at $12 billion in funding rounds that raised about $850 million last 12 months.

Bansal still holds about 1% of PhonePe. Neither party explained why they were leaving the board.

“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Binny Bansal for being one of the first and staunchest supporters of PhonePe,” Sameer Nigam, co-founder and CEO of PhonePe, said in a press release. His lively involvement, strategic advice and private mentoring have profoundly enriched our discussions. We will miss Binny!”

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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The company is currently developing washing machines for humans

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Forget about cold baths. Washing machines for people may soon be a brand new solution.

According to at least one Japanese the oldest newspapersOsaka-based shower head maker Science has developed a cockpit-shaped device that fills with water when a bather sits on a seat in the center and measures an individual’s heart rate and other biological data using sensors to make sure the temperature is good. “It also projects images onto the inside of the transparent cover to make the person feel refreshed,” the power says.

The device, dubbed “Mirai Ningen Sentakuki” (the human washing machine of the longer term), may never go on sale. Indeed, for now the company’s plans are limited to the Osaka trade fair in April, where as much as eight people will have the option to experience a 15-minute “wash and dry” every day after first booking.

Apparently a version for home use is within the works.

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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Zepto raises another $350 million amid retail upheaval in India

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Zepto, snagging $1 billion in 90 days, projects 150% annual growth

Zepto has secured $350 million in latest financing, its third round of financing in six months, because the Indian high-speed trading startup strengthens its position against competitors ahead of a planned public offering next yr.

Indian family offices, high-net-worth individuals and asset manager Motilal Oswal invested in the round, maintaining Zepto’s $5 billion valuation. Motilal co-founder Raamdeo Agrawal, family offices Mankind Pharma, RP-Sanjiv Goenka, Cello, Haldiram’s, Sekhsaria and Kalyan, in addition to stars Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar are amongst those backing the brand new enterprise, which is India’s largest fully national primary round.

The funding push comes as Zepto rushes so as to add Indian investors to its capitalization table, with foreign ownership now exceeding two-thirds. TechCrunch first reported on the brand new round’s deliberations last month. The Mumbai-based startup has raised over $1.35 billion since June.

Fast commerce sales – delivering groceries and other items to customers’ doors in 10 minutes – will exceed $6 billion this yr in India. Morgan Stanley predicts that this market shall be value $42 billion by 2030, accounting for 18.4% of total e-commerce and a pair of.5% of retail sales. These strong growth prospects have forced established players including Flipkart, Myntra and Nykaa to cut back delivery times as they lose touch with specialized delivery apps.

While high-speed commerce has not taken off in many of the world, the model seems to work particularly well in India, where unorganized retail stores are ever-present.

High-speed trading platforms are creating “parallel trading for consumers seeking convenience” in India, Morgan Stanley wrote in a note this month.

Zepto and its rivals – Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy-owned Instamart and Tata-owned BigBasket – currently operate on lower margins than traditional retail, and Morgan Stanley expects market leaders to realize contribution margins of 7-8% and adjusted EBITDA margins to greater than 5% by 2030. (Zepto currently spends about 35 million dollars monthly).

An investor presentation reviewed by TechCrunch shows that Zepto, which handles greater than 7 million total orders every day in greater than 17 cities, is heading in the right direction to realize annual sales of $2 billion. It anticipates 150% growth over the following 12 months, CEO Aadit Palicha told investors in August. The startup plans to go public in India next yr.

However, the rapid growth of high-speed trading has had a devastating impact on the mom-and-pop stores that dot hundreds of Indian cities, towns and villages.

According to the All India Federation of Consumer Products Distributors, about 200,000 local stores closed last yr, with 90,000 in major cities where high-speed trading is more prevalent.

The federation has warned that without regulatory intervention, more local shops shall be vulnerable to closure as fast trading platforms prioritize growth over sustainable practices.

Zepto said it has created job opportunities for tons of of hundreds of gig employees. “From day one, our vision has been to play a small role in nation building, create millions of jobs and offer better services to Indian consumers,” Palicha said in an announcement.

Regulatory challenges arise. Unless an e-commerce company is a majority shareholder of an Indian company or person, current regulations prevent it from operating on a listing model. Fast trading corporations don’t currently follow these rules.

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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