And finally… do the robot
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A man has been accused of using generative AI to fraudulently obtain more than $10 million in royalties from music streaming services using fake music and fake listeners.
New York man Michael Smith, 52, was arrested by the FBI last week in connection with the alleged fraud, which involved hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs published in the names of thousands of fake artists.
The songs were allegedly uploaded to streaming platforms including Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and YouTube Music, and then streamed billions of times using automated bots.
Smith has been charged with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy — each of which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.
Damian Williams, US attorney for the southern district of New York, said: “As alleged, Michael Smith fraudulently streamed songs created with artificial intelligence billions of times in order to steal royalties.
“Through his brazen fraud scheme, Smith stole millions in royalties that should have been paid to musicians, songwriters, and other rights holders whose songs were legitimately streamed.
“Today, thanks to the work of the FBI and the career prosecutors of this office, it’s time for Smith to face the music.”
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