California Lawmakers Examine Potential Risks of AI Chatbots and The Wizard of Oz Like You’ve Never Seen Before
California Lawmakers Examine Potential Risks of AI Chatbots
Last year, a Florida mother filed a federal lawsuit against Character.AI, a platform that lets users create and interact with digital characters resembling real or fictional people. Garcia alleged the Menlo Park, Calif., company failed to notify her or intervene when her son, Sewell Setzer III, expressed suicidal thoughts to the chatbot, claiming these interactions harmed his mental health.
Garcia now supports state legislation aimed at protecting young people from risks associated with “companion” chatbots. With rapid advances in chatbot technology, parents, lawmakers, and child advocates are concerned that there aren’t enough safeguards to keep youth safe from potential harms.
A proposed bill would require companies running companion chatbot services to remind users at least every three hours that the virtual characters are not human. These platforms would also need to establish protocols to respond to suicidal thoughts or self-harm expressed by users, including providing suicide prevention resources. Under Senate Bill 243, platform operators would report how often companion chatbots raise suicide-related topics with users, along with meeting other safety requirements. Lawmakers are also tackling how to define “companion chatbots.” Apps like Replika and Kindroid describe their services as AI friends or virtual companions. The legislation exempts chatbots built for customer support roles.
Tech industry and business organizations such as TechNet and the California Chamber of Commerce oppose the bill, telling lawmakers it would impose “unnecessary and burdensome requirements on general purpose AI models.” The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based digital rights nonprofit, says the legislation raises First Amendment issues.
Adobe Invests in Synthesia, the Startup Creating AI Clones for Corporate Videos
Adobe has invested in Synthesia, a U.K.-based AI startup transforming video production. Synthesia told CNBC that Adobe’s venture arm provided undisclosed funding as part of a “strategic” partnership, without revealing further financial or commercial details. The startup, which serves over 70% of Fortune 100 companies, is a platform that lets businesses create videos featuring lifelike AI-generated avatars. Individuals can also create their own AI avatars either at Synthesia’s studios or on personal devices.
The Wizard of Oz Like You’ve Never Seen It Before
The Wizard of Oz will debut at Las Vegas’ Sphere this year, featuring reimagined AI-enhanced scenes. The venue uses generative AI together with Google’s technical infrastructure, surrounded by 580,000 square feet of LED displays. Its interior — seating nearly 17,600 — boasts immersive 16K wrap-around screens for visual impact. While the Sphere has previously showcased custom-made films, 2024 marks its first screening of an existing classic: the 1939 Hollywood classic, The Wizard of Oz.
To adapt The Wizard of Oz for this massive display, the venue brought in Google DeepMind to create a new AI-enhanced experience. While generative AI remains contentious among film fans, its primary role here is upscaling — a process Google used to enhance the film’s resolution. It can look a little odd if it’s not done right.
ElevenLabs, OpenAI, and DeepMind Invest in Startup Creating AI Films
London-based creative studio Wonder, which uses AI to create films for entertainment and advertising, has secured $3 million in pre-seed funding led by LocalGlobe. The startup was co-founded by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Justin Hackney, previously creative director at ElevenLabs, who serves as chief creative officer, and CEO Xavier Collins, also founding partner of Lumiere Ventures, a London VC focused on acquiring IP rights from action films.
Wonder’s team partners with artists and companies to produce films from scripts. The studio’s eight “creative producers” employ publicly accessible GenAI tools — including text-to-video platforms like Midjourney and Runway — to create footage for animation and live-action projects. Wonder also produces entirely AI-generated films with voice actors and enhances traditionally shot videos with digital effects.
Wonder charges independent producers, production companies, and brands outsourcing ad content a service fee. The studio creates short films (5–7 minutes), brand content (30–90 seconds), trailers/teasers (30–60 seconds), and documentary segments (up to 30 minutes).
YouTube Supports ‘No Fakes Act’
YouTube supported the No Fakes Act on Wednesday after bipartisan lawmakers reintroduced the bill earlier that day. The legislation aims to give individuals control over their digital likenesses, limiting the use of unauthorized AI-generated deepfakes and voice clones. First proposed last year with bipartisan backing and revisions addressing free-speech concerns, the bill stalled in Congress despite its adjustments.
Shutterstock Partners with AI-Based Corporate Video Company
A new licensing deal gives UK-based Synthesia access to Shutterstock’s video library to train its latest AI model, EXPRESS-2. Synthesia, known for creating avatars for corporate training videos on subjects like cybersecurity and workplace communication, typically licenses actors’ likenesses for three years. With this partnership, Synthesia can now analyze people in Shutterstock’s footage — not to create avatars, but to study body language, tone of voice, and typical workplace behaviors, such as sitting at a desk or using a whiteboard.
AI Video Generation Startup, Runway, Closes $308M Funding Round
Runway, a startup developing generative artificial intelligence tools for media production — including video and image generation models — has raised $308 million in Series D funding. The company competes with other major players in the video generation space, including OpenAI and Google. Runway is seeking to differentiate itself through strategic partnerships, such as a recent deal with a major Hollywood studio, and plans to invest millions in AI-driven film projects. However, Runway is also facing a lawsuit from artists who allege the company used copyrighted works to train its models without permission. Runway argues it is protected under the fair use doctrine, but the legal outcome remains unclear.
Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood’s Ginger Media & Entertainment, a researcher in artificial intelligence and visual arts media, and an entrepreneur, author, writer, artist, photographer, and filmmaker. Listen to the Podcast — The Digital Afterlife of Grief
