When submitted from outside its platform, TikTok will start categorizing content using artificial intelligence.

TikTok claims its initiatives are intended to counteract misinformation on its social media platforms.

“AI enables incredible creative opportunities, but it can confuse or mislead viewers if they don’t know the content was AI-generated,” the business said in a prepared statement Thursday. “Labeling helps make that context clear—which is why we label AIGC made with TikTok AI effects, and have required creators to label realistic AIGC for over a year.”

The move is part of a larger effort by individuals in the technology industry to strengthen protections for AI use. Meta stated in February that it was working with industry partners to develop technical standards to make it easier to identify photos and, eventually, video and audio generated by artificial intelligence algorithms. Facebook and Instagram users could read labels on AI-generated photographs in their feeds.

TikTok Will Start Labeling AI-Generated Material When Technology Becomes More Mainstream.

Last year, Google said AI labels would be coming to YouTube and its other services.

In October, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order promoting digital watermarking and labeling AI-generated content.

TikTok announced collaborating with the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity to leverage its Content Credentials platform.

The company claims that the technology can attach metadata to information, instantly recognizing and categorizing AI-generated content. TikTok announced Thursday that it began using the feature on photos and videos and will soon expand to audio-only content.

In the future months, material Credentials will be tied to TikTok material and will remain on it when downloaded. This will let people recognize AI-generated material on TikTok and determine when, where, and how it was created or altered. Other platforms using Content Credentials will be able to automatically label it.

TikTok Will Start Labeling AI-Generated Material When Technology Becomes More Mainstream.

TikTok claims to be the first video-sharing platform to use the credentials and will join the Adobe-led Content Authenticity Initiative to assist in boosting their adoption throughout the industry.

“TikTok is the first social media platform to support Content Credentials, and with over 140 million users in the United States alone, their platform and their vast community of creators and users are an essential piece of that chain of trust needed to increase transparency online,” Dana Rao, Adobe’s executive vice president, general counsel, and chief trust officer, wrote in a blog post.

TikTok’s previous policy encouraged users to flag AI-generated or drastically modified videos. Now, the company requires users to label any AI-generated content, including realistic visuals, audio, or video.

“Our users and creators are so excited about AI and what it can do for their creativity and their ability to connect with audiences,” Adam Presser, TikTok’s Head of Operations, Trust, and Safety, told ABC News. “At the same time, we want to make sure that people have that ability to understand what fact is and what is fiction.”

The announcement first appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Thursday.

TikTok Will Start Labeling AI-Generated Material When Technology Becomes More Mainstream.

TikTok’s AI actions come just two days after the company announced that it and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, had filed a lawsuit challenging a new American law that would prohibit the video-sharing app from operating in the United States unless sold to an approved buyer, claiming that it unfairly singles out the platform and is an unprecedented attack on free speech.

The complaint is the latest development in what appears to be a protracted legal battle for TikTok’s future in the United States — one that could end up before the Supreme Court. If TikTok loses, it says it will be forced to close next year.

SOURCE – (AP)

OAKLAND, California – A federal judge on Wednesday questioned whether Apple had set up a maze of frustrating barriers to discourage other payment alternatives in iPhone apps, despite a court order to expand the number of ways consumers may pay for digital services.

The verbal sparring between Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers and the head of Apple’s app store kicked off a hearing to determine whether Apple is still steering U.S. consumers to its once-exclusive app payment system in violation of an injunction to encourage more choices that could help lower prices.

Gonzalez Rogers’ order mandates Apple to allow app developers to offer links to other payment systems in the United States. Apple earns billions of dollars yearly from this structure, which charges 15% to 30% on digital transactions within the most popular iPhone apps.

Judge Grills Apple Exec About Whether Company Is Defying Order To Enable More IPhone Payment Options

Apple’s app store and commission structure are also being challenged in a recent antitrust complaint brought by the United States Justice Department. The complaint alleges that the iPhone stifles competition and innovation.

Gonzalez Rogers frequently weighed in during Matthew Fischer’s four-hour testimony, sounding agitated and dubious.

The judge’s inquiries suggested that she is concerned that Apple’s efforts to comply with her order primarily protect the company’s profits rather than make it easier for iPhone customers to switch to other in-app payment choices, as she intended.

Gonzalez Rogers was particularly sharp as she questioned Fischer about whether Apple has purposefully made it more complicated for consumers to make digital transactions through alternative platforms.

“Other than to stifle competition, I can see no other answer,” the judge remarked as she attempted to decipher the reasoning behind Apple’s design of an alternative payment option system for iPhone apps.

Fischer claimed that Apple is complying with the judge’s decision while also attempting to protect iPhone users from criminal actors on the internet and allowing the Cupertino, California-based corporation, to profit from its investments in the app store and other mobile applications.

Judge Grills Apple Exec About Whether Company Is Defying Order To Enable More IPhone Payment Options

To that purpose, Apple has implemented a new compensation structure that ranges from 12% to 27% on digital transactions initiated within an app and finished using an alternative payment method. Following Gonzalez Rogers’ comment that Apple was still getting a “windfall,” Fischer stated that the business believed its effective fee rate on digital transactions processed via alternative payment alternatives to be around 18%.

“We are running a business,” Fischer stated.

Apple spent over two years attempting to reverse Gonzalez Rogers’ order as part of a larger antitrust case, which the corporation ultimately won. The injunction mandating Apple to allow links to alternative app payments went into force in January after the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

However, Fischer announced on Wednesday that Apple has only received and authorized applications to display links to other payment systems from 38 apps, a small proportion of the approximately 2 million iPhone apps accessible in the United States. When asked by Gonzalez Rogers, who ordered Apple to reveal the number as the case progressed this month, Fischer could not explain how many of those apps engage in digital transactions.

The video game developer Epic Games cites Apple’s lack of interest in applying for in-app links to alternative payment alternatives as evidence that the system was still rigged in its favor.

Epic, the creator of the popular video game Fortnite, is attempting to force Apple to make more significant adjustments to accept alternative payment alternatives after failing to persuade Gonzalez Rogers that the iPhone app store had become a price-gouging monopoly during a 2021 trial.

Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram, Elon Musk’s X short-messaging service, Spotify, and long-time Apple foe Microsoft all support the initiative.

Judge Grills Apple Exec About Whether Company Is Defying Order To Enable More IPhone Payment Options

Epic claimed in documents filed before Wednesday’s hearing that Apple’s current alternative payment formula “is guaranteed to continue extracting excessive commissions from developers” while preventing them from directing customers to other places where they could purchase the same digital services for less money.

In its pre-hearing filings, Apple accused Epic of attempting to persuade Gonzalez Rogers to micromanage its operations to increase the video game company’s revenues.

“Epic has repeatedly made clear that what it wants is access to and use of Apple’s tools and technologies without having to pay for them,” Apple countered.

The court proceedings will resume on Friday, when another top Apple official, Phil Schiller, will likely testify. Gonzalez Rogers intends to complete the hearings by May 17 but cautioned lawyers Wednesday that it might take longer.

SOURCE – (AP)

Disney cleared a major hurdle to start developing a colossal expansion of its Disneyland theme parks on Tuesday night when the Anaheim city council unanimously gave final approval to rezoning much of the property.

Disney’s original resort in California, which comprises a shopping district, parking areas and two theme parks, is about 550 acres, which is less than 2% of the size of Walt Disney World in Florida.

However, with newly approved “multi-use” zoning, Disney can now expand its theme parks in Anaheim without acquiring any new land by building attractions where the company could previously only build hotels or parking lots. This paves the way for a multi-decade project to expand both of its theme parks there: Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.

“For nearly seven decades, Disneyland Resort has made a unique, irreplaceable impact on hundreds of millions of guests from around the world. How exciting to know our best days are still ahead – I can’t wait to show you what’s to come,” Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock said in a statement Tuesday night.

The project, dubbed “DisneylandForward,” does not require any public funding. While no specific designs have been shared yet, Disney has released concept art for what the expansion could look like on the west side of the resort, in areas surrounding Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel.

On Tuesday night, Disney passed a significant hurdle to begin creating a massive expansion of its Disneyland theme parks when the Anaheim city council overwhelmingly approved rezoning much of the property.

Disneyland Receives Final Approval For ‘Greatest Thing’ Since Its Opening.

Disney’s first resort in California, which includes a commercial district, parking lots, and two theme parks, covers approximately 550 acres, less than 2% of the size of Walt Disney World in Florida.

However, with newly authorized “multi-use” zoning, Disney may now expand its theme parks in Anaheim without acquiring new land by creating attractions where the company could previously only build hotels or parking lots. This sets the door for a multi-decade project to develop both of its theme parks, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.

“For nearly seven decades, Disneyland Resort has had an unforgettable influence on hundreds of millions of visitors worldwide. “How exciting to know that our best days are still ahead – I can’t wait to show you what’s to come,” Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock said in a statement Tuesday night.

The project, known as “DisneylandForward,” does not require any public support. While no concrete designs have been revealed, Disney has produced concept images for the expansion on the west side of the resort, near the Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel.

“This is decades overdue. This, in my opinion, is the most significant thing Disney has done since opening the gates in 1955,” said Dennis Speigel, owner and founder of International Theme Park Services, a global consultant for theme park developments.

Speigel, who is not involved in Disney’s plans, stated that this project could potentially increase Disneyland Resort’s annual visitor count from 25 million to 40 million over the next 20 years.

“You’re going from a two-room house to a five-room house,” Speigel said, adding that the extra space will make visitors more comfortable and increase per capita spending by allowing them to stay longer and experience more attractions.

At a shareholders’ meeting in April, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that DisneylandForward’s potential new projects might include “the opportunity to embark on all-new Avatar adventures with a visit to the world of Pandora.”

The published concept art for a hypothetical Avatar land depicts a location similar to Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida, but with tourists on boats in the center of an open lake, reminiscent of the franchise’s second feature, “The Way of Water.”

In a January video, Rachel Alde, Disney Experiences’ senior VP of global development, stated that a 1990s agreement with the city of Anaheim allowed Disney to build 6.8 million square feet of theme park space, but the company has only built 46% of that due to space and zoning restrictions.

“Imagine what we could do with this space.” Currently, there are only surface parking lots. What if we could become the first land-based on Wakanda from the Black Panther franchise? A Zootopia-themed land that builds on the work you saw before at Shanghai Disney Resort. The creation of Arendelle from Frozen is comparable to what you witnessed in our three worldwide parks. Or even the ability to celebrate Dia de los Muertos in a Coco-themed area that reflects the diverse community in Southern California.”

Don Ballard, an author and historian who wrote a book about the ancient Disneyland Hotel, believes the company’s original resort is “ever-evolving.” I mean, technology changes and people’s tastes shift.”

Disneyland Receives Final Approval For ‘Greatest Thing’ Since Its Opening.

Ballard cited Walt Disney’s famous quote: “Disneyland will never be completed.” It will continue to expand for as long as imagination exists in the world.

Todd James Pierce, a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo professor who published the book “Three Years in Wonderland” about the creation of Disneyland, stated that “When Walt was alive, almost every year there was a new attraction, if not multiple new attractions.” He took one hiatus around the World’s Fair since he was busy doing other things. This allows the Disneyland Resort to expand significantly. So if people are fans, there will be something fresh only a short time from now, every year, or every couple of years.

Pierce stated that their chosen concept art is noteworthy because “none of these things are standalone attractions. They’re all 8—to 12-acre themed areas centered on one or more [stories], such as a whole Frozen region.

Ballard and Pierce agree that, in addition to being inventive, the new idea will be useful in reducing overcrowding at the right resort.

Ballard, who proposed to his wife at Disneyland, quipped, “It was just me and 80,000 of my closest friends.” And I proposed to her in front of the castle, and four girls behind her said ‘yes.‘”

Pierce stated that opening new lands allows Disney to close existing attractions more easily for redevelopment because passengers can spread out and are not pressed into tight crowds.

Disney theme parks worldwide are known for creating an immersive environment in which visitors leave the “real” world for something fanciful. To do so, one must enter a “Disney bubble,” as fans refer to it, which shields one from the outer world.

However, this proposal will face challenges because some of the properties that could be renovated are separate from the main Disneyland Resort campus. Disney has revealed in concept art that a section of land on the east side, currently used as the Toy Story surface parking lot, may be converted into a mixed-use hotel, restaurant, and shopping complex akin to Disney Springs in Florida.

Pierce explained that getting from the big theme parks to this retail area entails crossing city streets lined with 7-Elevens and CVS drugstores.

The difficulty lies “not in doing what they do really well, which is build themed environments, but figuring out how to connect up this patchwork of property that they’ll now control,” Pierce stated. “Elevated walkways, a people mover system or a Skyliner system (the elevated gondolas), something like that…is probably going to be necessary, otherwise the vacation experience becomes fragmented.”

According to Anaheim’s chief communications officer, Mike Lyster, the DisneylandForward project includes authority for pedestrian bridges over city streets, but anything else would require separate city approval.

Another challenge is ensuring there is ample parking. Disney would be forced to create additional parking facilities elsewhere on the resort grounds by potentially developing theme park lands on top of existing parking lots. Disney has stated that it plans to create a new parking facility on the resort’s east side, including one to three pedestrian bridges and improved entrance accessibility for hotels and businesses along Harbor Boulevard.

Disneyland Receives Final Approval For ‘Greatest Thing’ Since Its Opening.

Tuesday’s rezoning approval will take effect in 30 days. Next, Disney and the city of Anaheim will attempt to finalize a development agreement that will last until 2064.

“This is a significant milestone for the city. “We’re looking at a unique opportunity not only for Anaheim but for the entire state of California,” said Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken.

Proposed agreements include Disney committing $1.9 billion to the project over the first ten years, $40 million to take over two city-owned streets, $45 million for transportation improvements, $8 million for city parks, and $30 million for affordable housing.

Speigel predicts the corporation would spend over $3 billion, exceeding its initial investment promise.

This expansion initiative follows the company’s previously stated $60 billion investment in its parks and cruises across the world over the next ten years.

According to Aitken, more than half of Anaheim’s general fund comes from tourism revenue. So, the initiative would improve the guest experience and result in significant investment in the city.

She also stated she has been one of the “fiercest critics” of resort area growth, fighting city subsidies and securing construction and hospitality union backing for the initiative.

“And I’m comfortable that the Disneyland team has answered a lot of those concerns.”

Aitken stated that the resulting idea is carefully thought out and a “win-win” for everyone.

SOURCE – (AP)