What's in this week's issue?

In a move that has further strained the already tense US-China relations, the Biden administration has advanced plans to restrict American investments in key Chinese technology sectors. This decision, announced by the US Treasury Department, has sparked a swift and sharp rebuke from Beijing, highlighting the deepening rift between the world’s two largest economies.

The proposed rules, focusing on curbing investments in AI, quantum computing, and semiconductors, represent the latest salvo in what many observers call a “tech cold war.” These restrictions aim to prevent China from gaining ground in technologies critical to national security, particularly those with potential military applications.

Like many AI companies, music generation startups Udio and Suno appear to have relied on unauthorized scrapes of copyrighted works in order to train their models. This is by their own and investors’ admission, as well as according to new lawsuits filed against them by music companies.

If these suits go before a jury, the trial could be both a damaging exposé and a highly useful precedent for similarly sticky-fingered AI companies facing certain legal peril.

The lawsuits, filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), put us all in the uncomfortable position of rooting for the RIAA, which for decades has been the bogeyman of digital media. I myself have received nastygrams from them! The case is simply that clear.

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