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While I focus on Technology, Innovation, and Publishing, because I have a platform, I also flag items that I think are important. I also try to include some resources & opportunities. Please let me know what you think.
Technology
Authors: Check the Anthropic Settlement Website
HT @PublishersWkly It includes claim submission forms & a searchable list of works publishers and authors can use to see if they are covered in the $1.5 billion settlement.
https://www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com
Sora gives deepfakes ‘a publicist and a distribution deal.’ It could change the internet
Videos made with OpenAI’s Sora app are flooding TikTok, Instagram Reels and other platforms, making people increasingly familiar — and fed up — with nearly unavoidable synthetic footage being pumped out by what amounts to an AI slop machine. ‘I’m worried about a baseline erosion of trust. In a world where everything can be fake, and the fake stuff looks and feels real, people will stop believing everything.’
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/10/nx-s1-5567162/sora-ai-openai-deepfake
The Guardian view on AI “Actress” Tilly Norwood: she’s not art, she’s data
Norwood’s creator defended her as “not a replacement for a human being,” but “a piece of art,” describing AI as a new tool, like a paintbrush.
AI-Directed Movie ‘The Sweet Idleness’ Releases Trailer: ‘The First Movie’ Made by an ‘AI Agent’
They tout a new role of “Human-on-the-Loop” — the human supervisor & producer who guides, monitors, & ensures the creative and production consistency of the AI process.
AI Is Learning to Do the Jobs of Doctors, Lawyers, & Consultants
https://time.com/7322386/ai-mercor-professional-tasks-data-annotation/
Google’s AI Mode image search is getting more conversational
https://www.theverge.com/news/788180/google-ai-mode-visual-search-shopping-update
ChatGPT becomes the new app store — and hardware is coming
China’s Alibaba challenges U.S. tech giants with open source Qwen3-Omni AI model accepting text, audio, image and video
https://venturebeat.com/ai/chinas-alibaba-challenges-u-s-tech-giants-with-open-source-qwen3-omni-ai
Meta Mulls Standalone TV App for Instagram
Netflix is making its video games available for play on TVs for the first time
What Electronic Music Foretells About Gen AI
HT @benedictevans ‘When the act of creation is trivialized, the art of selection becomes paramount. The critical task is designing the systems -the new algorithmic gatekeepers-that can rescue the meaningful from the deluge.’
IBM claims 45% productivity gains w Project Bob, its multi-model IDE that orchestrates LLMs with full repository context
It’s an AI-1st dev workspace that uses multiple LLMs to modernize code w built‑in security checks, visual agent prototypes. https://venturebeat.com/ai/ibm-claims-45-productivity-gains-with-project-bob-its-multi-model-ide-that
Microsoft says AI can create “zero day” threats in biology
Ex-OpenAI researcher dissects one of ChatGPT’s delusional spirals
https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/02/ex-openai-researcher-dissects-one-of-chatgpts-delusional-spirals/
An Important Copyright Lawsuit Not About AI
HT @inkbitspixels 47K CoStar-owned photographs were published on Zillow without their authorization. Zillow claims that since users of the site uploaded the images & CoStar didn’t file DMCA notices, Zillow is protected.
https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2025/10/01/an-important-copyright-lawsuit-not-about-ai/
Publishing & Media
Baker & Taylor Prepares Plan to Shut Down
Baker & Taylor (an almost 200-year-old company and one of the largest distributors of print and audiovisual materials for libraries) will be closing their business, after a planned acquisition of their assets by Readerlink fell through last month. Operations will cease by January 1.
Andrews McMeel Acquires Quirk Books
Publishing wants debut authors to produce bestsellers. What happens if they don’t?
A book is being marketed with mayo-scented ink. Jealous? Me?
HT @Julie Blattberg Hellmann’s teamed up w author & publisher for a special edition of The Primal of Blood and Bone printed w ink mixed w their garlic aioli – the Craven are vampires, and averse to garlic. The author of this article writes, “Do I sound bitter? Of course I’m bitter….I’m bitter at a publishing industry model that seems weirdly averse to selling the majority of books it puts out….there seems to be an odd system at work where the books that don’t actually need much promotion get all the money thrown at them.”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/10/books-marketing-tiktok-publishing
Report reveals ‘stark inequalities’ and ‘precipitous decline’ in representation in UK children’s publishing
Sign the petition against book bans
https://action.everylibrary.org/bannedbooks
Resources & Opportunities
CreativeMornings Breakfast Talk with Tina Roth Eisenberg
Join WMG for a special conversation with Tina Roth Eisenberg, founder of CreativeMornings, the global breakfast lecture series that celebrates creativity and community in > 250 cities worldwide. Hosted in the style of CreativeMornings, we’ll welcome you with pastries, coffee, and networking. Then Tina will have a fireside chat exploring what it really takes to build authentic communities in today’s media and creative landscapes. After Q&A, four attendees will have the opportunity to share their 30-second pitches. And then they’ll be more networking. All are welcome!
https://womensmediagroup.org/event-6384874
Book Marketing Meetup with Catherine Cioffi and Ann-Marie Nieves
10/30 5:15pm In person Westchester – WMG Members Only
Join WMG member Catherine Cioffi for a Small Group Social with special guest Ann-Marie Nieves, founder of Get Red PR. Ann-Marie will share insights about the differences between publicity and marketing strategies across three popular publishing paths — self-publishing, hybrid, and traditional publishing — to help you navigate the promotional landscape with confidence.
https://womensmediagroup.org/event-6384958
AI for Authors & Book Publishers: Fauzia Burke in Conversation with Jane Wesman
11/5 12-1pm ET Virtual – All are welcome
Join WMG for a focused virtual session with Fauzia Burke, founder of FSB Associates and author of Online Marketing for Busy Authors. Fauzia will demystify how artificial intelligence is transforming publishing — from creating a media kit to discovering audiences. She’ll lead a thoughtful discussion on the promise and pitfalls of AI for writers and publishers, highlighting the essential skills authors and media professionals need to stay ahead. Drawing on real-world examples, Fauzia will share practical tools and frameworks to help you use AI responsibly and creatively. You’ll come away with actionable strategies to integrate AI into your marketing and promotion efforts — and learn how to leverage new technologies to elevate your message, strengthen your brand, and build lasting connections with readers. She will be in conversation with Jane Wesman, Co-President of WMG and President of Jane Wesman Public Relations, Inc.
https://womensmediagroup.org/event-6389643
Live Performance of “If Beale Street Could Talk” with Literature to Life
11/15 2pm Girls Write Now NYC
Join WMG member Elise Thoron for a performance and discussion of If Beale Street Could Talk, put on by her company, Literature to Life. James Baldwin’s story about abiding love in the face of injustice remains disturbingly poignant sixty years after it was first published. Told from the perspective of its young heroine, this is the story of one family’s fight for justice in a society where institutional discrimination has the power to destroy lives, a theme that resonates today with audiences from all walks of life. If Beale Street Could Talk will be performed by Channie Waites, and was adapted and directed by Elise. This event will be held at Girls Write Now, which is a scholarship partner of WMG. Space is limited.
https://womensmediagroup.org/event-6384992
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