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Modern copyright law can't keep pace with thinking machines
This past April, engineer Alex Reben developed and posted to YouTube, "Deeply Artificial Trees", an art piece powered by machine learning, that leveraged old Joy of Painting videos. It generate gibberish audio in the speaking style and tone of Bob Ross, the show's host. Bob Ross' estate was not amused, subsequently issuing a DMCA takedown request and having the video knocked offline until very recently. Much like Naruto, the famous selfie-snapping black crested macaque, the Trees debacle raises a number of questions of how the Copyright Act of 1976 and DMCA's Fair Use doctrine should be applied to a rapidly evolving technological culture, especially as AI and machine learning techniques approach ubiquity.
LittleBigControversy: Qur'an lyrics debated on BBC
This week's BBC News at Ten featured a discussion on the LittleBigControversy, in which the game was delayed at the eleventh hour due to a song, featuring lyrics taken from the Qur'an, by Grammy award-winning artist Toumani Diabaté. According to GamesIndustry.biz, the program had Diabaté on to discuss, as well as Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra of the Muslim Council of Britain. "It's quite normal to play music and be inspired by the words of the Prophet Mohammed," said Diabaté, himself a Muslim. "It's my way to attract and inspire people towards Islam." Mogra provided the counterpoint, saying that "Muslims believe the Qur'an to be the actual word of god and give it utmost respect" and its use in a commercial title would "upset and cause offence and hurt to many, many Muslims."LittleBigPlanet is expected to arrive next week for North America and "no later than the week of November 3" for Europe.
LittleBigPlanet delayed worldwide, Qur'an misuse cited as cause [update]
LittleBigPlanet has been delayed for an unspecified amount of time in Europe. Originally expected to launch next week, future friends of SackBoy may need to wait until mid-November. GI.biz reports that some retailers are listing November 14th as the new release date.Why the delay? Well, here's where things get ... sensitive. According to VG247, LBP is already in many stores, suggesting the game is facing a possible recall. The site points to a cached thread on the Official PlayStation Forums, which claims the game has mixed several passages from the Qur'an with music (heard here). Last year, a similar issue forced Capcom to remove Islamic phrases from Zack & Wiki.We've contacted Sony to find out if the North America version will also be delayed and will update as soon as we hear back. A statement from SCEE about the European delay is expected shortly.Update: SCEE confirms and notes delay is effective "worldwide" due to the Qur'an references.Source - LittleBigPlanet release delayed in Europe [GI.biz] Source - LittleBigPlanet delayed, says "speculation" [VG247] Source - very urgent about little big planet [PlayStation Forums]
