Miranda Lambert is among some 200 names featured on a new open letter submitted by the Artist Rights Alliance, calling on artificial intelligence companies and digital music services to stop using AI "to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists," according to the letter. The Artist Rights Alliance is an artist-led nonprofit organization that advocates for musicians in a precarious digital economy. The letter, while acknowledging the creative possibilities of AI, addresses some of its threats to human artistry. Those include using pre-existing work to train AI models -- without permissions -- in an attempt to replace artists and therefore "substantially dilute the royalty pools that are paid out to artists." "This assault on human creativity must be stopped," the letter reads. "We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists' voices and likenesses, violate creators' rights, and destroy the music ecosystem."
Ye, the rapper formerly named Kanye West, was sued Tuesday by a former employee who accused him of discrimination and creating a hostile work environment. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Trevor Phillips, who says he was hired in November 2022. Phillips was initially hired to oversee "projects related to growing cotton" and other plants in an effort to make Yeezy, Ye's fashion brand, "self-sustainable," the lawsuit said, and then went on to work for Donda Academy, Ye's private school in Southern California. The lawsuit contains a screenshot of a text message it claims Ye sent to Phillips taking issue with how he carried out a task. "I am on some complete Hitler level stuff," Ye says, then adds, "Minus the gas chambers." Phillips' lawsuit claims that Ye made antisemitic comments in front of staffers at Donda Academy, including, "the Jews are out to get me" and "the Jews are stealing all my money." The lawsuit claims that Ye treated Black employees at Donda Academy, including Phillips, "considerably worse than white employees." Representatives for Ye and Donda Academy did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit. In a 2022 interview, Ye said Donda Academy had more than 80 students. The current status of Donda Academy, which has been named in other lawsuits brought by former employees, is unclear.
Kanye West, known as Ye, watches the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Lakers, on March 11, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)