Perplexity gets a perplexing lawsuit
+ the golden secret behind the .ai domain
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Drunk driving isn’t just for cars. In the UK, it’s illegal to ride a horse—or even cattle—while drunk. So, while you can have a pint or two at the pub, don’t think about saddling up for a tipsy trot home. The law says “neigh” to that.
What’s in store:
The New York Times sends Perplexity a cease and desist over AI-generated content.
How a British Caribbean island struck gold in the AI boom.
Around the web: Amazon unveils its first colour e-reader, the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition.
Learn about Guidde’s incredible new update!
Read Time: 6 minutes
PERPLEXITY
Perplexity AI has received a cease and desist notice from The New York Times, asking the startup to stop using its content for generative AI purposes.
The NYT claims that Perplexity’s actions, like summarising articles, break copyright law.
The letter, dated Oct. 2, also asks for details on how Perplexity accessed its content, despite efforts to block it.
The company had earlier promised publishers it wouldn’t use crawling technology anymore.
However, Perplexity says it still uses web indexing to show factual information when users ask questions.
They deny scraping the data for AI training and plan to respond by the Oct. 30 deadline.
Here’s what they both had to say:
NYT says Perplexity is violating copyright by using its content.
Perplexity claims it uses web indexing and not data scraping.
Publishers are increasingly concerned about AI firms using their material.
The fine line between crawling and creeping
Perplexity has also faced criticism from other media outlets like Forbes and Wired for allegedly copying content.
In response, Perplexity introduced a revenue-sharing plan to address these concerns.
The dispute between AI companies and media continues, with NYT also suing OpenAI for similar issues.
You can’t just finesse news content without paying guys… or can you?
Perplexity - innocent or guilty? |
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On This Day
October 17th 1931 - American gangster Al Capone is convicted of income tax evasion, marking the downfall of one of the most notorious criminals of the 20th century.
GPT of the Week
Cover Letter specialises in crafting tailored cover letters based on the user’s resume and the specific job they’re applying for. The process is efficient, asking users for key information to create a personalized, professional letter. Additionally, it provides insights to improve resumes, ensuring all details align with the job requirements.
AI GOLD RUSH
Anguilla, a small British island in the Caribbean, has seen a big boost to its economy thanks to the rise of AI.
The island, with a population of less than 16,000, owns the .ai web domain, which has become highly popular with tech companies.
In the 1990s, Anguilla was given control of the .ai domain as its official country domain.
As AI grew in popularity, so did the domain registrations. And every single one has to pay Anguilla a fee.
There are now over 533,000 .ai websites, used by big names like Google and Elon Musk’s X.ai.
This demand has created a major new source of income for the island as companies pay to register and renew these domains.
Last year, Anguilla earned $32 million from domain registrations, making up 20% of its total governmental income. I’ll take a tax cut with that, please!
The money is being used for key projects like healthcare, education, and infrastructure, though the government is cautious about relying too much on this sudden boost.
The key facts and figures:
Anguilla’s .ai domain income rose to $32 million last year, making up 20% of the government’s revenue.
Companies like Google and X.ai use .ai domains, with over 533,000 .ai websites registered.
The money is funding projects like airport expansion, healthcare, and education.
From palm trees to tech millions
Although this income is helping Anguilla, it might not last forever.
To manage the growing number of registrations and improve security, Anguilla has partnered with Identity Digital, a U.S. company that will now handle the domain services.
Identity Digital, which also manages Australia’s .au domain, will move the .ai web services to a global server network, making it faster and more reliable.
This upgrade will protect the island’s web infrastructure from disruptions and ensure smooth operations as the domain business grows.
The extra income is also being used to expand the airport, provide free healthcare for seniors, and recover from past hurricanes.
The funds help diversify the island's economy, making it more stable.
The partnership with Identity Digital will also protect Anguilla from issues faced by other countries, like Tokelau’s .tk domain, which became linked with cybercrime after offering free domains.
By improving security and management, Anguilla hopes to keep this new revenue stream secure for the future.
Though the island doesn’t yet have its own AI industry, Premier Webster hopes Anguilla could become a hub for technology in the future.
For now, this unexpected windfall from AI is helping the island grow, while leaders remain cautious about what comes next.
They really won the lottery with that one!
Mindstream Picks
Space: Commercial suborbital spaceflight companies could face high insurance costs when their liability protection ends.
Crypto: Bitcoin price surged for three consecutive days, hitting its highest level since July 29 and retesting the $68,000 mark, marking a 40% jump from its August low.
Games: Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero sold three million copies within 24 hours of its October 11 launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC via Steam, quickly becoming one of Valve’s most-played games.
Sports: Mediawan Rights and Studiocanal have teamed up to launch "Hit the Mic! – A New Voice for Sports," a new talent contest format debuting at Mipcom.
Don’t Miss - Amazon has announced the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition, its first colour e-reader, priced at $279.99 and available for pre-order. The device uses advanced E Ink technology, designed to maintain the same speed, resolution, and contrast as traditional Kindles while bringing colour to images and book covers. Shipping starts 30th October.
AI Art
Our Image of the Day
Artwork submitted by Mindstream reader Nicholas K: “UFO floating above a field of corn”
Daily Image Prompt
Pink zebras
Yesterday’s Poll
“Do you think nuclear energy is the best solution for powering AI?”
Yes, clean and reliable! 66% ✅
No, too risky for my taste. 34%
Your Views:
“A coal plant is more dangerous than a nuclear one. Killing thousands and thousands each year. Nuclear? About 40 in total, mainly from Tjernobyl... Say no more.” - per.j
“Not only risky with nuclear storage drawbacks it is to slow to implement and to expensive. 10 Years is a stupid amount of time. For the same money you could put in equivalent solar in the next two years.” - craig.h
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