Damage caused by the use of generative AI is becoming a serious concern, including from AI covers, in which people have AI tools learn the voices of singers and voice actors, and sing songs using the professionals' voices. The Justice Ministry has come up with a draft report calling for the protection of the voices and images of famous individuals as the use of generative artificial intelligence grows. The draft report on civil responsibility over the unauthorized use of portraits and voices of famous people was submitted to an expert committee Monday. The ministry will release a final report as early as August after receiving expert feedback. Many things remain unclear regarding what constitutes the illegal use of voices, as no Japanese court ruling has been issued on related rights. The ministry said that it hopes the final report will be used as a reference in lawsuits and AI development.

Inside Story How is the US tech industry regulated? How is the US tech industry regulated? Apple is taking on OpenAI in court. The tech giant has filed a lawsuit against the artificial intelligence company for what it calls pervasive theft. OpenAI has denied the accusations.

PCWorld reports that OpenAI and Anthropic have temporarily relaxed usage limits for their latest AI models, including GPT-5.6 Sol and Claude's Fable 5. ChatGPT Plus, Business, and Pro subscribers can now access GPT-5.6 Sol without the previous five-hour usage window restrictions. This increased access appears driven by competition between the AI companies, giving users more opportunities to experience advanced reasoning capabilities. If you haven't kicked the tires yet on the latest and greatest ChatGPT and Claude models, this is your lucky week. OpenAI is (fittingly) opening the flood gates to GPT-5.6 Sol, its just-released and most powerful model, announcing Sunday that it's "temporarily" lifting the five-hour usage window for ChatGPT Plus, Business, and Pro subscribers. At the same time, Anthropic is - again - extending the trial period for Fable 5, its own new top-of-the-line, giving Claude subscribers another week of in-plan access .

Josh Fawaz' YouTube channel, HIs cover of Like A Prayer has topped the Australian commercial radio charts and the global iTunes electronic music charts. Josh Fawaz' YouTube channel, HIs cover of Like A Prayer has topped the Australian commercial radio charts and the global iTunes electronic music charts. Is the most popular song played on Australian radio stations the product of generative AI? Josh Fawaz's song, a cover of Like a Prayer, has raised questions over how generative AI is being used in music and whether it should be declared An Australian producer has gone from a little-known artist to a viral sensation in a matter of months, with his hit song catapulting onto global charts and receiving thousands of radio spins. There's just one problem: music experts and other musicians are questioning whether he produced it. They claim Josh Fawaz's most popular song, a cover of Madonna's Like a Prayer which reached the #1 spot on the National Radio Airplay chart, could have been made using AI.

More people are using generative artificial intelligence to make travel plans for their summer vacation and letting their children use the technology when doing their homework during summer holidays. Six out of 10 people who responded to a survey on this year's summer holidays said they are using generative artificial intelligence to make travel plans. The survey, conducted by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance on 1,120 people in their 20s to 50s in June, showed that 61.2% of those planning to travel in Japan or abroad refer to generative AI to make travel itineraries, as well as obtain information on local food and transportation. "The main tool people use for planning trips and doing research when they get there is shifting from travel guidebooks to generative AI," the firm said. Asked how they plan to spend their summer holidays, 58.4% said they are going out, down by 6.3 percentage points from last year. The rate of those traveling in Japan was 57.6%, up by 1 percentage point, while the ratio of those traveling overseas halved from 13.5% last year to 6.4%.

Tech companies' renewed emphasis on cost coincides with business customers scrutinizing AI spending. Three prominent artificial intelligence developers released new models over the past week. They all promise to be more advanced, but their biggest immediate selling point may not be what they can do, but how little they charge to do it. OpenAI said its most advanced offering, GPT-5.6, is designed to complete more work while using significantly fewer tokens, a unit of data processed by AI models. This will make the software far more cost efficient for customers. Grok 4.5, from Elon Musk's SpaceXAI, is billed as having twice the token efficiency as comparable models from other firms.

OpenAI's head of safety is reportedly leaving as part of company reorganization OpenAI's head of safety is reportedly leaving as part of company reorganization The role will be replaced by an executive in charge of both research and safety teams. Along with a significant restructuring of OpenAI's safety and research teams, the company's head of safety systems is expected to leave his post, according to a new report. As first reported by Wired, Johannes Heidecke told OpenAI staff in a memo seen by that he would be leaving the company. Heidecke first started at OpenAI in 2021, according to his LinkedIn. According to the report, OpenAI's Saachi Jain, who has led OpenAI's safety teams before, will slot in as the interim head of safety systems following Heidecke's departure.

OpenAI's Head of Safety Is Leaving the Company Johannes Heidecke's departure comes as OpenAI tries to further integrate its research and safety teams. OpenAI's head of safety systems Johannes Heidecke told staff this week that he's leaving the company, WIRED has learned. Heidecke's departure follows a reorganization that sought to integrate OpenAI's safety and research teams. In a memo to staff seen by WIRED, chief research officer Mark Chen said OpenAI's safety teams will now report to the company's VP of research and head of alignment Mia Glaese, who will take on an expanded role as VP of research and safety. Saachi Jain, who previously led safety teams at OpenAI, will become the company's interim head of safety systems, reporting to Glaese.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the Microsoft Build conference at the Seattle Convention Center Summit Building in Seattle in May 2024. Apple sued OpenAI for trade secret theft, accusing the artificial intelligence startup and its hardware chief of engaging in a coordinated campaign to steal information about upcoming products. The iPhone maker said in a suit Friday that OpenAI encouraged Apple employees to share information, components, drawings and other materials related to upcoming products -- part of efforts by the AI company to develop its own suite of devices. As part of the litigation, filed in the Northern District of California, Apple also named Tang Tan, the chief hardware officer at OpenAI. He was previously Apple's vice president of product design, leading development of the iPhone, smartwatch, AirPods and several other offerings in the company's hardware engineering division. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Apple has sued OpenAI and two former employees, alleging misappropriation of its trade secrets as the artificial intelligence company seeks to build its own hardware for ChatGPT, a major rupture in a partnership between the iPhone maker and the AI giant. The complaint, filed in a California federal court on Friday, alleges a coordinated effort to steal Apple's confidential information, including product designs, manufacturing processes and supply chain strategies. The lawsuit names Chang Liu, a former senior system electrical engineer, and Tang Yew Tan, a former vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch, as defendants, along with the OpenAI Foundation, OpenAI Group PBC and io Products. Neither defendant immediately responded to a request for comment. Apple alleged that Liu failed to return a company-issued work laptop and later used an authentication bug to access Apple's internal network, downloading "dozens of Apple's confidential hardware-related files".