philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Move Fast, but Obey the Rules: China’s Vision for Dominating A.I.

Artificial intelligence, he said, is as transformative as the steam engine, electricity and the internet. But for all of its promise, China must not let the new technology “spiral out of control,” Mr. Xi warned during a study session for leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, according to state media. China must act early and decisively, anticipating and preventing problems with prudence and caution, he said.

Mr. Xi’s remarks highlight a tension shaping China’s tech industry. China’s leadership has decided that A.I. will drive the country’s economic growth in the next decade. At the same time, it cannot allow the new technology to disrupt the stability of Chinese society and the Communist Party’s hold over it.

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The internet was once seen as an existential threat to the ruling Communist Party, but Beijing instead brought it to heel through a system of censorship and tight control over China’s largest internet companies. Artificial intelligence poses a similar dilemma: a transformative force that promises economic gains while having the potential to undermine the party’s grip on power. ...

“What OpenAI and Alibaba are legally required to do in terms of predeployment testing is quite different,” said Scott Singer, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. ...

After ChatGPT set off a global craze for chatbots, Chinese officials quickly announced draft rules for A.I. systems capable of answering questions, carrying on conversations and creating pictures and videos. ...

Even as Chinese officials seek to balance the promise of artificial intelligence with an aversion to risk, the technology has become increasingly important to Beijing amid slowing economic growth. ...

See the full story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/business/china-ai-regulations.html

When the Builders Tell You to Pay Attention

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Amodei just published an essay called "The Adolescence of Technology." It's long and dense, but it deserves your time.

He describes AI systems that exceed Nobel Prize-winning intelligence across multiple fields arriving within one to two years, a scenario he calls "a country of geniuses in a datacenter" running millions of instances simultaneously at 10 to 100 times human speed. He covers five risk categories: AI systems behaving unexpectedly, the democratization of bioweapons, AI-enabled authoritarianism, massive job displacement, and dangerous concentrations of economic power.

What distinguishes this essay from the usual AI doom discourse is Amodei's restraint. He acknowledges uncertainty throughout, avoids breathless predictions, and calls for targeted interventions rather than sweeping regulation. He is threading a needle between complacency and panic, and doing it carefully. ...

See the full story here: https://shellypalmer.com/2026/01/when-the-builders-tell-you-to-pay-attention/

Yann LeCun On Artificial General Intelligence And The Digital Commons

... In other words, they’re book-smart, but not street-smart. 

LeCun put it this way:

“If you want intelligent behavior, you need a system to be able to anticipate what's going to happen in the world, and also predict the consequences of its actions. If you can do this, then it can plan a sequence of actions to arrive at a particular objective. And that's what's missing. That's the concept of a world model. You’re not going to get intelligent behavior without that.”

See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwerner/2026/01/27/yann-lecun-on-artificial-general-intelligence-and-the-digital-commons/

a16z email – Forward-deployed Job Titles

... So if AI is transforming your industry, work out what the jobs of the future will be. Coin a new title. Plant a flag. Winning attention is one of the hardest challenges for businesses today. If your market associates a winning concept with your company, you are much closer to winning yourself.

AI and Moral Development

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Artificial intelligence matters from a moral perspective long before it ever potentially becomes conscious or autonomous. Although AI may or may not confront us with dramatic ethical dilemmas, it does change our moral lives in a far subtler way in that it reshapes our habits. Habits, more than principles, are where moral development actually lives. ...

When moral decisions become easier, faster, and more optimized, they also become less formative. Wisdom does not develop in the absence of uncertainty. Responsibility does not develop without the felt weight of consequence. These qualities do not emerge automatically from well-designed systems. They emerge through practice.

The danger, then, is not that artificial intelligence will make us immoral. The danger is that it will make morality thinner. From the outside, everything may appear functional and well ordered. From the inside, something essential may be missing: the sense that this is my judgment, my responsibility, and my doing. ...

See the full story here: https://kevinmd.com/2026/01/ai-and-moral-development-how-algorithms-shape-human-character.html

One of the First Big Anti-AI Campaigns From Hollywood Is Launching Now

Writers, actors and other musicians have come out in support of the Human Artistry Campaign’s “Stealing Isn’t Innovation” push for licensing and opt-out mechanisms for human-created works. ...

“Big Tech is trying to change the law so they can keep stealing American artistry to build their AI businesses — without authorization and without paying the people who did the work. That is wrong; it’s un-American, and it’s theft on a grand scale,” one of the campaign’s message proclaims. “The following creators all agree. Do you? If so, come join us.”

In addition to Johansson, Blanchett and Gordon-Levitt, industry figures David Lowery, Fran Drescher, Jennifer Hudson, Kristen Bell, Michele Mulroney, Olivia Munn, Sean Astin and Vince Gilligan all signed their names as backing the campaign. Musicians such as Cyndi Lauper, LeAnn Rimes, Martina McBride and Questlove and the groups MGMT, One Republic, R.E.M. and OK Go have also given their support, as did the authors George Saunders, Jodi Picoult, Roxane Gay and Jonathan Franzen.

The Human Artistry Campaign is composed of a mix of unions representing creators, artists’ rights groups and trade associations like the Writers Guild of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, The NewsGuild, the NFL Players Association and SAG-AFTRA. ...

See the full story here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/celebrities-back-stealing-isnt-innovation-campaign-ai-1236479303/

Liza Minnelli, Art Garfunkel Among Artists Who ‘Co-Created’ Songs With AI Tech From ElevenLabs

... Eleven Music lets artists “use AI to expand their creative range while maintaining full authorship and commercial rights,” according to ElevenLabs. The artists who participated in “The Eleven Album” project released their tracks through their own streaming channels, which ensures “all streaming revenue goes back to the artists, reflecting ElevenLabs’ commitment to creator control, consent and fair compensation.”

“The Eleven Album” project spans multiple genres, including rap, pop, R&B and EDM. The album includes original tracks from Liza Minnelli; Art Garfunkel; Patrick Patrikios; Willonius; IAMSU!; Demitri Leiros; Emily Falvey; Sunsetto; Kondzilla; Chris Lyons; Michael Feinstein; and AI music artists Kai and Angelbaby. ...

Minnelli, 79, in a statement provided by ElevenLabs, said, “I’ve always believed that music is about connection and emotional truth. What interested me here was the idea of using my voice and new tools in service of expression, not instead of it.  ...

See the full story here: https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/elevenlabs-eleven-album-liza-minnelli-art-garfunkel-ai-music-1236635663/

DISPATCH FROM DAVOS: AI EVERYWHERE, POLITICS LOOMING LARGER

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There are essentially two topics dominating conversations in Davos this week: AI and President Donald Trump.

The tech presence at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting has always been sizable, but this year it feels bigger, louder, and more embedded in the Swiss alpine town.

Anthropic, a little-known AI lab just a few years ago, for the first time set up its own office on the main drag — a clear sign of how aggressively it’s courting enterprise customers. Google, meanwhile, hosted its press event for the fourth straight year, drawing what appeared to be its largest crowd yet.

Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, said the path to human-level artificial general intelligence is becoming clearer — but still has “missing ingredients.” He put AGI at five to ten years away, longer than timelines floated by peers at Anthropic and OpenAI, where executives have suggested it could arrive as early as 2026 or 2027. ...

If Davos is any guide, AI’s future still looks enormous — but could be far less linear than the confident forecasts shared on these same stages 12 months ago. ...

See the full story here: https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/artificial-intelligencer-how-ai-politics-dominated-davos-2026-01-22/

OpenAI seeks to increase global AI use in everyday life 

OpenAI is expanding its efforts to convince global governments to build more data centers and encourage greater usage of artificial intelligence in areas such as education, health and disaster preparedness.

The initiative – called OpenAI for Countries – will expand the reach of its products and help close the gap between countries with broad access to AI technology and nations that do not yet have the capacity, the company said. ...

OpenAI started the international initiative last year and appointed former British finance minister George Osborne to oversee the project in December. Osborne and Chris Lehane, OpenAI chief global affairs officer, are pitching government officials on the project this week in Davos.

The initiative is part of a broader strategy that has helped cement ChatGPT creator OpenAI at the vanguard of the modern AI boom. ...

See the full story here: https://www.reuters.com/business/davos/openai-seeks-increase-global-ai-use-everyday-life-2026-01-21/

ITALY PASSES EUROPE’S FIRST NATIONAL AI LAW

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Core Idea

Italy’s message is simple and deliberate: AI should support human decision-making, not replace it. Responsibility always stays with people.

What the Law Actually Does

Italy’s AI framework reinforces several core principles that will shape how organizations deploy AI:

• Transparency and accountability
  AI systems must be explainable, traceable, and aligned with fundamental rights.
• Human oversight by design
  Individuals must be able to understand, monitor, and intervene at every stage of an AI system’s lifecycle.
• No automation without responsibility
  AI can assist decisions, but it cannot absorb or replace human accountability.
• A foundation for future rules
  The law authorizes additional decrees over the next year to define liability, procedures, and coordination with the EU AI Act.

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See the full story here: https://www.theaireport.ai/partner-columns/italy-passes-europes-first-national-ai-law