YouTube Starts Music AI Incubator with Universal Music as Partner

YouTube unveils their new paid subscription service at the YouTube Space LA in Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles, California, United States October 21, 2015. (Reuters)
YouTube unveils their new paid subscription service at the YouTube Space LA in Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles, California, United States October 21, 2015. (Reuters)
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YouTube Starts Music AI Incubator with Universal Music as Partner

YouTube unveils their new paid subscription service at the YouTube Space LA in Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles, California, United States October 21, 2015. (Reuters)
YouTube unveils their new paid subscription service at the YouTube Space LA in Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles, California, United States October 21, 2015. (Reuters)

YouTube is launching an incubator to work with artistes and musicians to explore the use of artificial intelligence in music, according to its blogpost on Monday.

The Alphabet unit has signed up Universal Music as its first partner for the Incubator, and will work with artistes including Anitta, ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus, and Max Ricther.

"The incubator will help inform YouTube's approach as we work with some of music's most innovative artists, songwriters, and producers across the industry," YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said in the blog.

The group "will help gather insights on generative AI experiments and research that are being developed at YouTube," said Mohan, adding that YouTube would bring on board more partners.

Generative AI is artificial intelligence capable of generating text, images, sounds and other data.

With the launch of ChatGPT late last year, the technology has been adopted in a range of industries and use-cases even as lawmakers deliberate rules that prevent its misuse including copyright infringement and spam.

YouTube said it will further invest in AI-powered technology, including evolving its copyright management tool, Content ID, to protect viewers and creators.



ChatGPT Adds Shopping Help, Intensifying Google Rivalry

FILED - 18 April 2023, Berlin: On the monitor of a cell phone you can see the ChatGPT logo. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
FILED - 18 April 2023, Berlin: On the monitor of a cell phone you can see the ChatGPT logo. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
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ChatGPT Adds Shopping Help, Intensifying Google Rivalry

FILED - 18 April 2023, Berlin: On the monitor of a cell phone you can see the ChatGPT logo. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
FILED - 18 April 2023, Berlin: On the monitor of a cell phone you can see the ChatGPT logo. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa

OpenAI announced Monday that ChatGPT is now helping users find products online, enhancing its challenge to Google amid regulatory pressure on the search giant's market dominance.

The new shopping capability further blurs the line between AI chatbots and search engines, signaling OpenAI's ambition to compete with Google in a market the latter has controlled for decades.

"Search has become one of our most popular and fastest growing features, with over 1 billion web searches just in the past week," the San Francisco-based company said in a post on X.

Rolled out on Monday, the update allows shoppers to find and compare items through natural conversation, then connect directly to merchants for purchases.

"Instead of scrolling through pages of results, you can simply start a conversation," OpenAI's post said, adding that users could also ask follow-up questions or compare products.

ChatGPT's shopping feature initially focuses on fashion, beauty, and home electronics categories. Product recommendations are personalized and come from the web, not advertisements, OpenAI said.

To counter increasing competition from AI chatbots, Google has integrated its own Gemini assistant into search results, providing AI-generated answers above traditional website links.

The rivalry intensified last week when an OpenAI executive testified the company would consider purchasing Chrome if Google were forced to sell the browser as part of an ongoing US antitrust case.