Even Warren Buffett Hasn't Fixed the RV Industry's Serial Breakdowns
Jay Nelson was driving away from a picturesque Montana state park in 2020 when he saw smoke in his rearview mirror.
It was coming from the Forest River recreational vehicle he was towing. Nelson, a longtime Montana highway patrolman, got his three daughters to safety, then he and his wife grabbed a fire extinguisher.
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Washington Post
7 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Federal court says copyrighted books are fair use for AI training
A federal judge this week ruled that artificial intelligence company Anthropic did not break the law when it used copyrighted books to train its chatbot, Claude, without the consent of the texts' authors or publishers — but he ordered the company to go to trial for allegedly using pirated versions of the books. The decision, made Monday by Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, represents a win for AI companies, which have battled copyright lawsuits from writers and news organizations for using their work to train AI systems. Alsup said Anthropic's use of the books to train its large language models, was like an aspiring writer who reads copyrighted texts 'not to race ahead and replicate or supplant' those works, 'but to turn a hard corner and create something different.' His ruling was on a lawsuit filed against Anthropic last year by three authors — Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson — who alleged that the company used their work without their consent to train AI systems in what amounted to 'largescale theft.' But Alsup ordered Anthropic to face trial for the accusation that it knowingly obtained copies of more than 7 million books from piracy websites, although the company later paid to purchase copies of some books. Alsup said he doubted that 'any accused infringer could ever meet its burden of explaining why downloading source copies from pirate sites that it could have purchased or otherwise accessed lawfully was itself reasonably necessary to any subsequent fair use.' 'That Anthropic later bought a copy of a book it earlier stole off the internet will not absolve it of liability for the theft but it may affect the extent of statutory damages,' he added. In a statement, Anthropic said it was pleased that the court recognized that using published works to train LLMs was consistent with copyright laws 'in enabling creativity and fostering scientific progress.' But the company said it disagrees with the decision to hold a trial for its 'acquisition of a subset of books and how they were used,' in apparent reference to the piracy allegations. 'We remain confident in our overall case, and are evaluating all options,' it said. In their lawsuit, the authors said the actions of Anthropic have made 'a mockery of its lofty goals.' The company was founded in 2021 by a group that included OpenAI's former vice president of research Dario Amodei with goals that included 'research into increasing the safety of AI systems.' Bartz and Johnson did not reply to requests for comment. Graeber declined to comment. After concerns arose within the company about using pirated books, Anthropic hired former Google Books executive Tom Turvey to obtain 'all the books in the world' while also avoiding as many legal issues as possible, according to court documents. Turvey and his team could have sought to reach commercial agreements with publishers to license the books to train its AI systems, Alsup noted, but they instead purchased millions of print books from retailers, many of them in used condition, then scanned them into digital form. The company could have also hired staff writers and engineers to create good original writing to train AI models. But that would have 'required spending more,' Alsup noted.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
FIFA start investigation into Pachuca player amid Antonio Rudiger racism allegations
Real Madrid saw their Club World Cup victory over Pachuca overshadowed by allegations of racism made by Antonio Rudiger, and FIFA have now taken the next step in their efforts to discover the truth of the situation. UEFA looking into Gustavo Cabral as part of investigation During the match in Charlotte, Rudiger claimed that Gustavo Cabral had called him a 'black s***'. These allegations were denied by the Pachuca player, but the FIFA protocol on these matters was activated. An investigation was started, and now it has been reported by COPE (via Sport), that Cabral is being looked into by world football's governing body. Image via Paul Ellis/AFP Advertisement FIFA are determined to get to the bottom of things, which is why their investigation has progressed in the last 24 hours. It has not been ruled out that witnesses, such as those involved in the match for either side, will be called to testify. But for now, no definitive decision has been made. Real Madrid are standing behind Rudiger in this matter, whom they believe wholeheartedly. And it's not the first time that they have had to do so with one of their players, with superstar winger Vinicius Junior having been subjected to racist abuse on several occasions over the last few years. It is not clear when a resolution will come, with FIFA determined to ensure that everything is looked into before they make their decision. It is unlikely that it will happen in the coming days, and there is no reason for anything to be rushed given that Pachuca have already been knocked out of the Club World Cup, so any punishment that comes the way of Cabral would not have an effect on the ongoing tournament. For now, the investigation that FIFA are undertaking is ongoing, and will remain that way until a definitive outcome is reached.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Police agencies across Western Washington warn of text scams
Multiple police agencies across Western Washington posted on social media this week, warning communities to look out for toll road text scams. The scammers send texts claiming to be from the DMV, the 'Seattle Vehicle Administration,' or Good To Go!, claiming that the user owes toll money and will face penalties if they do not pay via a link in the text. Police are warning people NOT to click these links. Back in March, KIRO 7 spoke to a Washington couple who wanted to warn the public after they lost more than $23,000 to the scam. 'They're good. They're really good. That chick knew everything. She said the right things and reassured us we were doing the right thing, and the whole time we weren't,' they said. The scammer used personal details to lead the couple into losing thousands. 'If you have any doubts at all, hang up and call the institution directly,' they said. As a reminder, WSDOT never texts toll notices, uses web addresses ending in '. and only sends reminders through mail or an official account. If you get a text from one of these scammers, Des Moines PD advises you not to reply, block the caller, and don't reply. You can also report the message as junk/spam. If concerned, you can check your account by visiting directly or by calling WSDOT. Here's a roundup of the local police agency posts:
