Black Mirror: Actors and Hollywood battle over AI digital doubles

 Like a plot from the anthology television series "Black Mirror," the Screen Actors Guild says it is battling the studios for control over the digital replicas of performers that could be used "for the rest of eternity."

The studios counter that they have offered groundbreaking protections from misuse of images.

Artificial intelligence has become a sensitive issue for film and television actors, who fear that artificial intelligence could be used to duplicate their voices and likenesses. Actors have used contract talks with the Hollywood studios to assert control over how these digital simulations are used on screen. It is one of several sticking points in contract talks with the Hollywood studios, which ended Wednesday without agreement.

The AMPTP, the group negotiating on behalf of Walt Disney, Netflix and other major studios and streaming services, said it had agreed to a "groundbreaking AI proposal" that would protect performers' digital likeness.

Such protections, the studios noted, would include gaining an actor's consent to create and use a digital replica, or digitally alter their performance.

SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland took issue with that characterization during a press conference Thursday in Los Angeles.

"They propose that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day's pay, and their company should own that scan of their image, their likeness, and should be able to use it for the rest of eternity," said Crabtree-Ireland. "So if you think that's a groundbreaking proposal, I suggest you think again."

The AMPTP said SAG-AFTRA's claim that the digital replicas of background actors may be used in perpetuity with no consent or compensation is false. It said the current proposal would restrict the use of the digital replica to the motion picture for which the background actor is employed. Any other use would require that actor's consent and bargaining for the use, subject to a minimum payment, the studios said.

SAG-AFTRA is Hollywood's largest union, representing 160,000 members, including actors, stunt performers and voiceover artists.

"I would like to see protections around artificial intelligence, not to stop the technology," said Linda Powell, first vice president of New York local of SAG-AFTRA. "We know that the Earth is going to move forward, technology is going to move forward, but we don't want to participate in a contract that will end up in any way replacing us."

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/WALT-DISNEY-COMPANY-THE-4842/news/Black-Mirror-Actors-and-Hollywood-battle-over-AI-digital-doubles-44342533/

US chip CEOs plan Washington trip to talk China policy - sources

 The chief executives of Intel Corp and Qualcomm Inc are planning to visit Washington next week to discuss China policy, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The executives plan to hold meetings with U.S. officials to talk about market conditions, export controls and other matters affecting their businesses, one of the sources said. It was not immediately clear whom the executives would meet.

Intel and Qualcomm declined to comment, and officials at the White House did not immediately return a request for comment.

The sources said other semiconductor CEOs may also be in Washington next week. The sources declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/INTEL-CORPORATION-4829/news/US-chip-CEOs-plan-Washington-trip-to-talk-China-policy-sources-44342580/

Appeals court temporarily stays order barring Biden officials from colluding with Big Tech

 A federal appeals court on Friday temporarily stayed a lower court order restricting Biden administration officials from contacting social media companies because of concerns over suppressing free speech. 

The New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Justice Department and blocked US District Judge Terry Doughty’s preliminary injunction while the White House appeals the lower court’s order. 

The three-judge panel also agreed to expedite the administration’s appeal. 

Doughty ruled on July 4 that the White House likely violated the First Amendment by flagging content for Big Tech companies to scrub during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lawsuit against the Biden administration was brought by attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri last year.  

Doughty, a Trump appointee, denied the Justice Department’s prior request for a stay last week, arguing that his preliminary injunction only prohibited officials from contacting social media companies for the purposes of restricting free speech.

“Although this Preliminary Injunction involves numerous agencies, it is not as broad as it appears,” Doughty wrote. “It only prohibits something the Defendants have no legal right to do — contacting social media companies for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner, the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech posted on social-media platforms.”

The DOJ then turned to the 5th Circuit, arguing that Doughty’s ruling could restrict the White House from asking platforms to “act responsibly by disseminating only accurate information” related to a hypothetical natural disaster. 

The Biden administration also argued that Doughty’s injunction may prevent federal law enforcement authorities from contacting social media companies about issues that affect “national security [and] public safety,” such as matters related to the fentanyl crisis and election security. 

The government signaled that if the Fifth Circuit would not grant a stay, it would appeal to the Supreme Court.

“If the Court declines to grant a longer stay, it should at a minimum stay the injunction for ten days to permit the Supreme Court to consider an application for a stay, should the Solicitor General elect to file one,” the DOJ wrote in its filing. 

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and several federal agencies were among those covered by Doughty’s injunction. 

https://nypost.com/2023/07/14/appeals-court-temporarily-stays-order-barring-biden-officials-from-colluding-with-big-tech/

'Biden administration announces $39 billion in student debt relief for 804,000 borrowers'

 The Biden administration has announced that it will provide $39 billion in total student debt relief for 804,000 borrowers, its latest step since President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan was struck down by the Supreme Court. 

The Education Department said Friday the relief is being provided on income-driven repayment plans, in which the federal government cancels remaining balances for the borrower after they have made their payments for 20 or 25 years.

The department said the “fixes” will more accurately count monthly payments that qualify under the plans, and it will notify borrowers who are eligible for the relief in the upcoming days. 

The Supreme Court struck down Biden’s plan to give $10,000 of student debt relief to low- and middle-income borrowers and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients in a 6-3 decision last month. The majority found Congress had not directly authorized the president to forgive debts worth hundreds of billions of dollars. 

US President Joe Biden walks backdropped by Marine One upon arriving at Stansted airport, in London, Monday, July 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Biden announced after the decision that his administration would continue to work to provide student debt relief despite the court’s ruling. He said he would base his debt relief plan on a different law, the Higher Education Act, which proponents argue allows the education secretary to “compromise, waive or release” student loan debt. 

The administration must undergo a public comment period before the plan can go into effect, delaying its potential implementation. 

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment on Friday’s announcement.

Vice President Harris said in a statement that she and Biden are “committed” to providing relief to student borrowers.

“Our Administration will continue to fight to make sure Americans can access high-quality postsecondary education without taking on the burden of unmanageable student loan debt,” she said.

Harris said many of the borrowers eligible for the relief were placed in forbearance by loan servicers against the rules of the payment plan, and others did not receive credit for monthly payments they made.

“For far too long, borrowers fell through the cracks of a broken system that failed to keep accurate track of their progress towards forgiveness,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

The relief is being provided as part of an adjustment that the administration announced in April 2022.

Cardona said the plan will ensure everyone receives the forgiveness they deserve in addressing “past administrative failures.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4097236-biden-administration-announces-39-billion-in-student-debt-relief-for-804000-borrowers/

HHS proposes $9B 340B drug program payback to hospitals

 HHS has proposed $9 billion in payments to hospitals that were underpaid by the 340B drug pricing program  implemented in 2018.

https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-14623.pdf

FDA to import more Chinese cancer drugs amid shortage

 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is opening the way for more cancer drugs from China as the U.S. continues to deal with an ongoing shortage in key chemotherapy treatments.

A spokesperson for the FDA confirmed Monday that the agency is permitting 10 additional lots of the common cancer drug cisplatin to be distributed by the Chinese company Qilu Pharmaceutical.

Cisplatin is currently under shortage along with another common cancer drug carboplatin. These two drugs, oftentimes prescribed together, are used to treat a wide variety of cancers such as those that affect the breasts, lungs and prostate.

The latest move was first reported by Bloomberg.

The FDA last month issued a letter allowing the “Temporary Importation of CISplatin Injection with non-U.S. Labeling” in order to address the shortage of chemotherapy medications. At the time, four lots were allowed to be distributed.

While cisplatin is a commonly used drug in the U.S., the cisplatin product being imported by Qilu — manufactured and marketed in China — is not FDA approved.

Much of the current shortage is tied to the temporary closure of a manufacturing facility in India owned by Intas Pharmaceuticals. The closure occurred after the FDA discovered “failures” in the plant’s quality control. The company is working with the FDA to restart production.

Last month, the agency issued an import alert on the facility in India which would deny entry for all products made at that location except 24 drugs that are in short supply, including cisplatin.

The current shortage has brought heightened attention on the tenuous nature of drug supply lines for medicines in the U.S.

The shortage is also partly due to drug manufacturers lacking an incentive to invest in generic drugs, which have smaller profit margins. This has lead to a limited number of generic facilities operating at near-capacity levels.

https://thehill.com/homenews/4089447-fda-to-import-more-chinese-cancer-drugs-amid-shortage/

Autoimmune Atrial Fibrillation

 

Ange Maguy,

 

Yuvaraj Mahendran,

 

Jean-Claude Tardif,

 

David Busseuil and

 

Jin Li

https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.062776

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is by far the most common cardiac arrhythmia. In about 3% of individuals, AF develops as a primary disorder without any identifiable trigger (idiopathic or historically termed lone AF). In line with the emerging field of autoantibody-related cardiac arrhythmias, the objective of this study was to explore whether autoantibodies targeting cardiac ion channels can underlie unexplained AF.

METHODS:

Peptide microarray was used to screen patient samples for autoantibodies. We compared patients with unexplained AF (n=37 pre-existent AF; n=14 incident AF on follow-up) to age- and sex-matched controls (n=37). Electrophysiological properties of the identified autoantibody were then tested in vitro with the patch clamp technique and in vivo with an experimental mouse model of immunization.

RESULTS:

A common autoantibody response against Kir3.4 protein was detected in patients with AF and even before the development of clinically apparent AF. Kir3.4 protein forms a heterotetramer that underlies the cardiac acetylcholine-activated inwardly rectifying K+ current, IKACh. Functional studies on human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived atrial cardiomyocytes showed that anti-Kir3.4 IgG purified from patients with AF shortened action potentials and enhanced the constitutive form of IKACh, both key mediators of AF. To establish a causal relationship, we developed a mouse model of Kir3.4 autoimmunity. Electrophysiological study in Kir3.4-immunized mice showed that Kir3.4 autoantibodies significantly reduced atrial effective refractory period and predisposed animals to a 2.8-fold increased susceptibility to AF.

CONCLUSIONS:

To our knowledge, this is the first report of an autoimmune pathogenesis of AF with direct evidence of Kir3.4 autoantibody-mediated AF.

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.062776