Warner Bros. has filed a lawsuit against Midjourney, claiming the AI platform violates copyrights by generating unauthorized images and videos of its iconic characters, including Superman, Batman, and Bugs Bunny. The studio alleges that Midjourney deliberately removed safeguards that could have prevented such infringements. This case follows a similar template to earlier lawsuits filed by Disney and Universal, suggesting a united front by major studios against AI misuse. Midjourney, on the other hand, argues its practices fall under “fair use” and accuses the studios of double standards. The platform’s expansion into video services and streaming channels has heightened tensions, with studios viewing this as a competitive threat. Warner Bros. seeks damages and an injunction.

Biotech startup Enveda is using artificial intelligence to search thousands of plants for potential drug breakthroughs. The Colorado-based company recently achieved unicorn status with a $150 million funding round, valuing it at over $1 billion. Enveda’s approach combines traditional plant-based medicine knowledge with AI to identify promising molecules for drug development. The firm has already begun its first clinical trial and plans to expand its pipeline. This innovative method aims to accelerate the discovery of new medicines from natural sources.

Inside Higher Ed’s Student Voice survey reveals widespread adoption of generative AI among college students, with 85% using it for coursework. Students primarily utilize AI for brainstorming, tutoring, and studying. While many find AI helpful, some worry about its impact on critical thinking. Nearly all students want clear institutional policies on AI use, preferring guidance over restrictions. Despite AI’s prevalence, most students still view college as valuable or increasingly important in the AI era. The survey included responses from 1,047 students across 166 institutions.

PC Gamer reports on Nvidia’s efforts to improve AI reasoning capabilities. The company is using human tutors to teach its Cosmos Reason AI model basic knowledge about the physical world through multiple-choice questions based on video data. This approach aims to develop AI that can safely interact with real-world environments, particularly for applications in robotics and autonomous vehicles. Nvidia’s data factory team, comprising experts from various fields, is compiling and analyzing data to enhance the AI’s understanding of everyday scenarios. 

Scientists at UC Riverside have introduced a groundbreaking method to erase private and copyrighted data from AI models without requiring access to the original training datasets. Their “source-free certified unlearning” approach substitutes original data with a surrogate dataset and injects calibrated random noise to alter model parameters, ensuring selected information is irretrievable. The technique maintains the functionality of the models while reducing the costly and energy-intensive need for complete retraining. This innovation addresses growing legal and ethical concerns, such as compliance with privacy regulations and protection of copyrighted material used to train AI systems like GPT. Researchers demonstrated effectiveness using both synthetic and real-world datasets, offering strong privacy assurances.