All posts tagged: landmark

Hollywood actors secure landmark AI protections in new studio deal

Hollywood actors secure landmark AI protections in new studio deal

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Television and film actors have overwhelmingly ratified a new four-year contract with major studios and streaming services, securing significant protections against the use of artificial intelligence to create synthetic performers. The agreement, negotiated by union leaders last month, was approved by members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The ratification was widely anticipated, with negotiations proceeding without the industrial action that plagued the entertainment industry in 2023. Over 90 per cent of votes cast by union members endorsed the deal, with approximately 19 per cent of eligible voters participating. Similar to the Writers Guild of America, which approved its own contract in April, the actors’ new agreement spans four years instead of the customary three, providing an additional layer of stability for the industry. SAG-AFTRA has approved the agreement reached by union members (AP Photo/Chris …

Universal’s Landmark U.K. Resort Gets a Name, £5B in Investment

Universal’s Landmark U.K. Resort Gets a Name, £5B in Investment

Published by Daniella Wilson

Construction is set to soon start on Universal‘s U.K. theme park and resort, which will create 28,000 jobs and boost the British economy by nearly £50 billion ($67bn). In details released to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday, Comcast NBCUniversal is confirmed to invest over £5 billion ($6.7bn) in the newly-named Universal United Kingdom Resort throughout its five-year construction, as well as an additional £1 billion ($1.3bn) in capital investment over its first 10 years when finally open — which is expected to be in 2031. The U.K. government will invest another £1.3 billion in regional and local community infrastructure, the department for culture, media and sport (DCMS) has said, “to ensure the park can operate successfully.” This will include improved transport links for local residents and visitors from across the U.K. and abroad. The deal between the British government and Comcast is one of the largest-ever investments in the U.K. tourism sector, boasting nearly 20,000 new jobs during construction and a further 8,000 jobs in operation. It is also the brand’s first major destination in Europe. …

Tip Toe review – Alan Cumming is extraordinary in this terrifying, landmark queer drama

Tip Toe review – Alan Cumming is extraordinary in this terrifying, landmark queer drama

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Tragedy looms like a plummeting meteor from the opening shots of Russell T Davies’s Tip Toe, the camera crawling over prosaic Mancunian suburbia to reveal a man hanging, lifeless, from a lamp post. The victim, we soon learn, is Leo Struthers (Alan Cumming), the owner of an LGBTQ+ bar in Manchester’s gay village. Channel 4’s punchy state-of-the-nation drama depicts the buildup to what we come to understand is a lynching, as it examines the homophobia and bigotry that are, Davies suggests, undergoing a dangerous resurgence in Britain today. When we first meet Leo alive, he is running out of his house in his pants, chasing vainly after a casual hookup who has made off with his laptop. He ends up locked out of his own home – there’s a metaphor there, you might think – and is forced to seek refuge …

‘A landmark’: Brazil’s prosecutors hail court ruling to preserve Fordlandia | History News

‘A landmark’: Brazil’s prosecutors hail court ruling to preserve Fordlandia | History News

Published by Sam Flores

Federal prosecutors in Brazil have celebrated a court decision mandating the preservation of Fordlandia, a 1928 city built by the United States industrialist Henry Ford in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. The court ruling was the result of decades of advocacy, as historians, activists and residents pushed for the crumbling site to be protected. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Some hope the site can ultimately be restored and used to anchor the local tourism industry in the Brazilian state of Para. In a statement on Friday, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office called the court ruling a “landmark” decision that will rectify a gap in Brazil’s cultural preservation efforts. “The complex has suffered from neglect for decades,” the office wrote. “The ruling acknowledges the arguments presented by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office in the case, highlighting the historical omission by public authorities.” The decision requires the federal government, the state of Para, the local government in Aveiro and the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) to collaborate to protect the …

The story of Pope Leo’s ‘landmark’ text on AI technology – by a member of its launch panel

The story of Pope Leo’s ‘landmark’ text on AI technology – by a member of its launch panel

Published by skeptic

For the last few years, I’ve been seconded to assist the Catholic Church’s unprecedented global grassroots listening initiative. Just as that process drew to a close, I received a surprise request: would I help Pope Leo XIV launch his first social encyclical, focused on what it means to be human in a time of artificial intelligence? It is difficult to think of a more important theme right now than the impact of digital technologies, AI and robotics – on every level of our social interactions and structures. The Vatican has addressed technological questions before. My research includes the social teaching of popes since 1891, starting with Pope Leo XIII’s influential text “Rerum Novarum”, which addressed the impact of the industrial revolution on working people (and which this new text commemorates). A range of previous letters have addressed both the opportunities and dangers of technology. Of course, the Vatican does have a chequered history with regard to theological reflection on scientific and medical developments. Over the past decade, it has been pursuing focused and, in my …

Trump scraps signing of landmark executive order regulating AI

Trump scraps signing of landmark executive order regulating AI

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump abruptly delayed the signing of a landmark executive order on AI on Thursday afternoon, telling reporters that he had pulled the order at the last minute because it could interfere with American competitiveness on AI. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. “We’re leading China, we’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to get in the way of that lead,” Trump, answering reporters’ questions in the Oval Office during an unrelated event, said about America’s AI industry. “I really thought [the order] could have been a blocker.” The order, reportedly in development for weeks, was expected to direct federal agencies to shore up key cybersecurity defenses and work with the world’s leading AI companies on a voluntary basis to test advanced models before they are available to the public, according to two people familiar with the draft. The order’s planned debut would have come less than two months after AI company Anthropic’s Mythos Preview model demonstrated the novel ability …

Barney Frank, architect of landmark Wall Street reforms, dies at 86

Barney Frank, architect of landmark Wall Street reforms, dies at 86

Published by Sam Flores

Barney Frank, former U.S. Congressman Adam Jeffery | CNBC Former U.S. Representative Barney Frank, a quick-witted Democrat who gave his name to a landmark financial reform bill after the economic crisis of 2007-2009, has died, his sister Ann Lewis said on Wednesday. He was 86. One of the best-known gay politicians of his time, ⁠Frank served for over 30 years in the U.S. House of Representatives as a member from Massachusetts and a liberal who gladly worked with Republicans. “He’s a guy you can sit down and ​deal with,” Republican Representative Tom Cole from Oklahoma ​said in 2011, when Frank chaired the ​House Financial Services Committee. Along with then Senator Chris Dodd, Frank spearheaded 2010 legislation that tightened banking regulations and consumer protections to avoid a repeat of the 2007 financial crash and subsequent Great Recession. Known as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the law led to new rules on the previously unregulated off-exchange derivatives ⁠market, ‌and set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to shield consumers from predatory and abusive ⁠practices. It was regarded as one of the main successes in Congress of Barack Obama’s two-term presidency. ‘Things would …

Elon Musk Loses Landmark Lawsuit Against OpenAI

Elon Musk Loses Landmark Lawsuit Against OpenAI

Published by skeptic

Elon Musk suffered the worst defeat possible in his legal battle against OpenAI as a federal jury and a judge ruled he waited too long to bring his claims against the AI startup and its top executives, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. The jury’s decision was a nonbinding recommendation sent to US district judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, though she immediately accepted it on Monday as her own, making it final. The nine-member panel delivered the unanimous verdict in an Oakland, California courtroom after deliberating for under two hours. They found that statutes of limitations expired well before Musk filed his lawsuit in 2024. Musk had hoped to persuade the jury that Altman and Brockman, with the help of Microsoft’s cash, transformed OpenAI into an enormous company well beyond what was envisioned when the three of them and others founded it as a nonprofit nearly 11 years ago. Because the jury found the case wasn’t filed on time, it didn’t weigh in on Musk’s three claims, including breach of charitable trust, unjust enrichment, and, against Microsoft, …

Oasis documentary to feature landmark moment for Gallagher brothers

Oasis documentary to feature landmark moment for Gallagher brothers

Published by Daniella Wilson

Disney Plus have now confirmed the exciting news that an Oasis documentary will be heading our way this year – with it also set to feature the first joint interviews with Noel and Liam Gallagher in over 25 years. While the feature is yet to get an official title, the news will undoubtedly come as a very welcome surprise for fans after the pair reunited for their triumphant tour just last year. It’s such a major film event that it’s also been announced that the documentary will be debuting in select IMAX and cinemas worldwide for a limited time from 11 September, with the film then landing on Disney Plus later this year. Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight will also be at the helm of the project as the documentary’s creator, while Dylan Southern (The Thing With Feathers) and Will Lovelace (Meet Me in the Bathroom) will be in the director’s seats. The film will feature unprecedented access and never-before-seen footage so fans are certainly in for a treat. Steven Knight. Dave Benett/WireImage As per the …

‘Violation of personal freedom’: Readers divided over ‘landmark’ smoking ban for people born after 2008

‘Violation of personal freedom’: Readers divided over ‘landmark’ smoking ban for people born after 2008

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay on top of the latest political news with our View from Westminster newsletter Get the latest political headlines with our free email Get the latest political headlines with our free email With the Tobacco and Vapes Bill clearing Parliament, a move to create a “smoke-free generation” has prompted strong debate among Independent readers. The legislation – which will ban anyone born after 2008 from ever legally buying cigarettes – was described by ministers as a landmark public health intervention. But our community is divided over whether it strikes the right balance between protecting health and preserving personal freedom. In a poll of readers, 40 per cent said the move will restrict individual choice too much, while the remaining 60 per cent supported the policy – though a quarter of those admitted it will be difficult to enforce. Many questioned how the policy would work in practice. Concerns ranged from enforcement falling on shopkeepers to the potential for increased smuggling and black market activity. Others pointed to the significant tax revenue from tobacco, and the …