Latest news with #US3
The Age
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
Australians studying in the US to face tougher social media screening
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce would not confirm the contents of the cable during a briefing in Washington but said the government would 'continue to use every tool we can to assess who it is that's coming here', whether they were students or others. 'Every sovereign country has a right to know who is trying to come in, why they want to come in, who they are, what they've been doing, and at least hopefully within that framework determine what they will be doing while they're here,' she said. The US embassy in Canberra directed inquiries back to Washington. The move is one of many that the Trump administration has taken against top US universities, especially Harvard, which President Donald Trump accuses of indulging antisemitism on campus and persisting with affirmative action policies for student admissions. Loading The government is directing federal agencies to terminate contracts with Harvard, while Trump said he was considering taking away $US3 billion ($4.67 billion) in grants and giving it to trade schools instead. Harvard has refused to bow to Trump's demands, instead twice suing the administration, and Trump indicated the university's intransigence was leading him to take harsher action. 'Harvard is treating our country with great disrespect, and all they're doing is getting in deeper and deeper and deeper,' he said in the Oval Office on Wednesday (Thursday AEST). 'The last thing I want to do is hurt Harvard. They're hurting themselves, they're fighting,' Trump said, making a comparison to Columbia University in New York, which he said was co-operating. 'But Harvard wants to fight. They want to show how smart they are, and they're getting their ass kicked … every time they fight they lose another $250 million. Yesterday, we found another $100 million.' The Trump administration has demanded that Harvard supply a list of names of its foreign students, as well as any disciplinary action against them. Trump said on Wednesday that many of these students were 'very radical people' from radicalised countries and 'we don't want them making trouble in our country'. 'Let's be clear, this has nothing to do with combating antisemitism' Jacob Miller, former president, Harvard Hillel Jewish association He also suggested Harvard was enrolling too many international students – just shy of 7000, or a quarter of its total – and it should be capped at about 15 per cent. 'We have people [in the US] that want to go to Harvard and other schools; they can't get in.' Britt Suann, an Australian who has just completed a master of public health on a Fulbright scholarship, said she had 'gotten away with it'. But friends who are continuing on at Harvard were uncertain about where they stood, as were the Australians due to replace the current cohort. 'A lot of them aren't sure if they're going to get their visas or not,' she said. 'A lot of people have already stopped working in preparation for coming over. It's a huge deal.' David Hogan, who finished a master of real estate, said his phone had blown up with messages from fellow Australians uncertain about their fate. But Hogan, who is a member of the Harvard Republicans, was more relaxed about the situation. 'This is just classic Trump playing hardball. He does it in every single facet of political life,' he said. 'There's uncertainty and people are scared. People forget – if the university just complies, this threat isn't acted upon.' 'We're all freaking out' A third Australian at Harvard, who did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation by US authorities, is currently in Europe with fellow students and said there was unease among the cohort. 'We're all freaking out being, like, 'can get back into the country?'' she said. She and others had thought about returning to the US early, while the injunction was still in place, but decided not to. 'We don't really want our lives to become bargaining chips,' she said. 'A lot of us have accepted we might become collateral damage. It's still the right thing for Harvard to [fight back], even if it f---ks up my life.' Loading Concerns about antisemitism on campus go beyond just Harvard and the Ivy League, following more than 18 months of protests against Israel and its destruction of Gaza, prompted by the October 7 Hamas attacks. In an interview with National Public Radio this week, Harvard president Alan Garber, who is Jewish, said his university had made substantial progress in combating antisemitism over the past 12 months. But the most common and disturbing way antisemitism manifested on campus was social exclusion, he said, which was more difficult to manage and meant people were not exposed to different opinions. 'We shouldn't be in an echo chamber. Everyone in our community needs to hear other views,' Garber said. 'That is one reason why it is so important for us to be able to have international students on our campus. There is so much that they contribute to our environment, and they enable everyone else to open their minds.' At a campus rally, Jacob Miller, a former president of the Jewish association Harvard Hillel, said the Trump administration was using antisemitism as an 'absurd' excuse to target people based on their identity. 'Let's be clear, this has nothing to do with combatting antisemitism,' he said.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Australians studying in the US to face tougher social media screening
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce would not confirm the contents of the cable during a briefing in Washington but said the government would 'continue to use every tool we can to assess who it is that's coming here', whether they were students or others. 'Every sovereign country has a right to know who is trying to come in, why they want to come in, who they are, what they've been doing, and at least hopefully within that framework determine what they will be doing while they're here,' she said. The US embassy in Canberra directed inquiries back to Washington. The move is one of many that the Trump administration has taken against top US universities, especially Harvard, which President Donald Trump accuses of indulging antisemitism on campus and persisting with affirmative action policies for student admissions. Loading The government is directing federal agencies to terminate contracts with Harvard, while Trump said he was considering taking away $US3 billion ($4.67 billion) in grants and giving it to trade schools instead. Harvard has refused to bow to Trump's demands, instead twice suing the administration, and Trump indicated the university's intransigence was leading him to take harsher action. 'Harvard is treating our country with great disrespect, and all they're doing is getting in deeper and deeper and deeper,' he said in the Oval Office on Wednesday (Thursday AEST). 'The last thing I want to do is hurt Harvard. They're hurting themselves, they're fighting,' Trump said, making a comparison to Columbia University in New York, which he said was co-operating. 'But Harvard wants to fight. They want to show how smart they are, and they're getting their ass kicked … every time they fight they lose another $250 million. Yesterday, we found another $100 million.' The Trump administration has demanded that Harvard supply a list of names of its foreign students, as well as any disciplinary action against them. Trump said on Wednesday that many of these students were 'very radical people' from radicalised countries and 'we don't want them making trouble in our country'. 'Let's be clear, this has nothing to do with combating antisemitism' Jacob Miller, former president, Harvard Hillel Jewish association He also suggested Harvard was enrolling too many international students – just shy of 7000, or a quarter of its total – and it should be capped at about 15 per cent. 'We have people [in the US] that want to go to Harvard and other schools; they can't get in.' Britt Suann, an Australian who has just completed a master of public health on a Fulbright scholarship, said she had 'gotten away with it'. But friends who are continuing on at Harvard were uncertain about where they stood, as were the Australians due to replace the current cohort. 'A lot of them aren't sure if they're going to get their visas or not,' she said. 'A lot of people have already stopped working in preparation for coming over. It's a huge deal.' David Hogan, who finished a master of real estate, said his phone had blown up with messages from fellow Australians uncertain about their fate. But Hogan, who is a member of the Harvard Republicans, was more relaxed about the situation. 'This is just classic Trump playing hardball. He does it in every single facet of political life,' he said. 'There's uncertainty and people are scared. People forget – if the university just complies, this threat isn't acted upon.' 'We're all freaking out' A third Australian at Harvard, who did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation by US authorities, is currently in Europe with fellow students and said there was unease among the cohort. 'We're all freaking out being, like, 'can get back into the country?'' she said. She and others had thought about returning to the US early, while the injunction was still in place, but decided not to. 'We don't really want our lives to become bargaining chips,' she said. 'A lot of us have accepted we might become collateral damage. It's still the right thing for Harvard to [fight back], even if it f---ks up my life.' Loading Concerns about antisemitism on campus go beyond just Harvard and the Ivy League, following more than 18 months of protests against Israel and its destruction of Gaza, prompted by the October 7 Hamas attacks. In an interview with National Public Radio this week, Harvard president Alan Garber, who is Jewish, said his university had made substantial progress in combating antisemitism over the past 12 months. But the most common and disturbing way antisemitism manifested on campus was social exclusion, he said, which was more difficult to manage and meant people were not exposed to different opinions. 'We shouldn't be in an echo chamber. Everyone in our community needs to hear other views,' Garber said. 'That is one reason why it is so important for us to be able to have international students on our campus. There is so much that they contribute to our environment, and they enable everyone else to open their minds.' At a campus rally, Jacob Miller, a former president of the Jewish association Harvard Hillel, said the Trump administration was using antisemitism as an 'absurd' excuse to target people based on their identity. 'Let's be clear, this has nothing to do with combatting antisemitism,' he said.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
This musician was getting millions of streams. Then fake tracks appeared under his name
'If this doesn't change, people are going to start training AI on your entire discography. Then they upload songs that actually sound like you. Fans go to your page, hear something that sort of sounds right — but it's shit.' Paul Bender (at right) with his band Hiatus Kaiyote: (from left) Perrin Moss, Simon Mavin and Naomi Saalfield aka Nai Palm. The problem, he says, is wilful inaction from distributors and streamers. Even basic password protection 'would solve 99 per cent of these cases overnight. Two-factor authentication would solve more. These tech companies are full of developers who could fix this in an afternoon. So far 'it's just them passing the buck — 'it's the distributor's fault, no, it's the platform's fault'. It's a copout. It just proves how demoralising this system is for artists.' Spotify, which commands more than 30 per cent of the global streaming market, acknowledged the fakes issue in 2023 when it removed tens of thousands of tracks uploaded by AI music startup Boomy. That followed pressure from Universal Music Group, its biggest licensor. The Sweet Enoughs' boutique label, Wondercore Island, has had less success. 'It took Spotify six weeks to lift a finger,' says label head Si Jay Gould. 'They're calling it a 'mapping issue' — as if four artists just happened to release terrible AI music under our name. 'There's no incentive to protect us. We're being impersonated, we're losing income, our brand is being damaged, and the response is: 'We've done what we can.' It shows how little they value artists.' Even now, though Spotify has uncoupled the four fakes from the Sweet Enoughs' profile, the tracks remain live under that name, ready to deceive fans looking for real music. Spotify declined to comment for this story. When asked about authentication systems, an Australian spokesperson referred us to the company's extensive Spotify for Artists educational manuals. The scale of hijacking 'can't be human', Gould says. 'The money's too marginal.' Like those old computer scams creaming fractions of cents from millions of bank accounts, 'it has to be automated. I assume they're targeting artists who do well in the algorithm — names the system likes.' Loading Industry indicators confirm a growing problem. Deezer reported that 18 per cent of its daily uploads in early 2025 were fully AI-generated. Music generator Mubert claims over 100 million AI tracks were created on its platform in the first half of 2023. The global Music Fights Fraud Alliance estimates 10 per cent of global streams are fraudulent, often driven by bots, fake profiles or click farms. Some distributors report fraud rates of up to 50 per cent, potentially diverting up to $US3 billion annually from artists. Now musicians are fighting back. Michael League, best known as leader of American jazz collective Snarky Puppy, says he has collected 'several dozen testimonials from artists of various genres and levels of visibility recounting their experiences with AI-generated music being uploaded to their account without their consent'. League has briefed the Recording Academy's New York chapter on the hijacking of his own solo artist profile. He says senior executive director Nick Cucci has indicated he will escalate the complaint within the Grammy organisation this week. 'I've been both shocked and horrified by the volume of messages I've received,' League says. 'It's like a silent epidemic in our industry.' Behind the languid chill of The Sweet Enoughs, Paul Bender is fuming. 'It's not resolved, it's multiplying,' he says. 'I'm f---ing ropeable … You're building towards a new album, and suddenly this steaming pile of crap lands in the middle of your Spotify profile. It's vile and disrespectful. 'There are people in this industry who seem to actively loathe musicians. It's almost sadistic. Real human music and AI slop are the same to them. It's all just a commodity. It's all just content.' Get the day's breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter.
The Age
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
This musician was getting millions of streams. Then fake tracks appeared under his name
'If this doesn't change, people are going to start training AI on your entire discography. Then they upload songs that actually sound like you. Fans go to your page, hear something that sort of sounds right — but it's shit.' The problem, he says, is wilful inaction from distributors and streamers. Even basic password protection 'would solve 99 per cent of these cases overnight. Two-factor authentication would solve more. These tech companies are full of developers who could fix this in an afternoon. So far 'it's just them passing the buck — 'it's the distributor's fault, no, it's the platform's fault'. It's a copout. It just proves how demoralising this system is for artists.' Spotify, which commands more than 30 per cent of the global streaming market, acknowledged the fakes issue in 2023 when it removed tens of thousands of tracks uploaded by AI music startup Boomy. That followed pressure from Universal Music Group, its biggest licensor. The Sweet Enoughs' boutique label, Wondercore Island, has had less success. 'It took Spotify six weeks to lift a finger,' says label head Si Jay Gould. 'They're calling it a 'mapping issue' — as if four artists just happened to release terrible AI music under our name. 'There's no incentive to protect us. We're being impersonated, we're losing income, our brand is being damaged, and the response is: 'We've done what we can.' It shows how little they value artists.' Even now, though Spotify has uncoupled the four fakes from the Sweet Enoughs' profile, the tracks remain live under that name, ready to deceive fans looking for real music. Spotify declined to comment for this story. When asked about authentication systems, an Australian spokesperson referred us to the company's extensive Spotify for Artists educational manuals. The scale of hijacking 'can't be human', Gould says. 'The money's too marginal.' Like those old computer scams creaming fractions of cents from millions of bank accounts, 'it has to be automated. I assume they're targeting artists who do well in the algorithm — names the system likes.' Loading Industry indicators confirm a growing problem. Deezer reported that 18 per cent of its daily uploads in early 2025 were fully AI-generated. Music generator Mubert claims over 100 million AI tracks were created on its platform in the first half of 2023. The global Music Fights Fraud Alliance estimates 10 per cent of global streams are fraudulent, often driven by bots, fake profiles or click farms. Some distributors report fraud rates of up to 50 per cent, potentially diverting up to $US3 billion annually from artists. Now musicians are fighting back. Michael League, best known as leader of American jazz collective Snarky Puppy, says he has collected 'several dozen testimonials from artists of various genres and levels of visibility recounting their experiences with AI-generated music being uploaded to their account without their consent'. League has briefed the Recording Academy's New York chapter on the hijacking of his own solo artist profile. He says senior executive director Nick Cucci has indicated he will escalate the complaint within the Grammy organisation this week. 'I've been both shocked and horrified by the volume of messages I've received,' League says. 'It's like a silent epidemic in our industry.' Behind the languid chill of The Sweet Enoughs, Paul Bender is fuming. 'It's not resolved, it's multiplying,' he says. 'I'm f---ing ropeable … You're building towards a new album, and suddenly this steaming pile of crap lands in the middle of your Spotify profile. It's vile and disrespectful. 'There are people in this industry who seem to actively loathe musicians. It's almost sadistic. Real human music and AI slop are the same to them. It's all just a commodity. It's all just content.'
The Advertiser
4 days ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
Trump moves to cut $US100m in contracts from Harvard
The Trump administration has asked federal agencies to cancel contracts with Harvard University worth about $US100 million ($A155 million), intensifying the US president's clash with the nation's oldest and wealthiest university. The government already has cancelled more than $US2.6 billion in federal research grants for the Ivy League school, which has pushed back on the administration's demands for changes to several of its policies. A letter sent from the General Services Administration, which oversees contracting and real estate for the federal government, directed agencies to review contracts with the university and seek alternate arrangements. President Donald Trump has railed against Harvard, calling it a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism. The school filed a lawsuit April 21 over the administration's calls for changes to the university's leadership, governance and admissions policies. Since then, the administration has slashed the school's federal funding, moved to cut off enrolment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status. Contracts include scientific research, executive training The administration has identified about 30 contracts across nine agencies to be reviewed for cancellation, according to an administration official who provided details on the condition of anonymity. The contracts total roughly $US100 million, according to a senior administration official. The contracts include executive training for Department of Homeland Security officials, research on health outcomes related to energy drinks and a contract for graduate student research services. Agencies with contracts that are deemed critical are being directed not to halt them immediately, but to devise a plan to transition to a different vendor other than Harvard. The letter applies only to federal contracts with Harvard and not its remaining research grants. Trump laid into Harvard on social media over the weekend, threatening to cut an additional $US3 billion in federal grants and give it to trade schools across the United States. He did not explain which grants he was referring to or how they could be reallocated. The president also accused Harvard of refusing to release the names of its foreign students. In a new line of attack, he argued that students' home countries pay nothing toward their education and that some of the countries are "not at all friendly to the United States." International students are not eligible for federal financial aid, but Harvard offers its own aid to foreign and domestic students alike. "We are still waiting for the Foreign Student Lists from Harvard so that we can determine, after a ridiculous expenditure of BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, how many radicalised lunatics, troublemakers all, should not be let back into our Country," Trump said on social media. It was not clear exactly what the president was referring to. The federal government already has access to visa information and other records on foreign students at Harvard and other universities. The Department of Homeland Security has demanded that Harvard turn over a trove of files related to its foreign students, including disciplinary records and records related to "dangerous or violent activity." The Trump administration has asked federal agencies to cancel contracts with Harvard University worth about $US100 million ($A155 million), intensifying the US president's clash with the nation's oldest and wealthiest university. The government already has cancelled more than $US2.6 billion in federal research grants for the Ivy League school, which has pushed back on the administration's demands for changes to several of its policies. A letter sent from the General Services Administration, which oversees contracting and real estate for the federal government, directed agencies to review contracts with the university and seek alternate arrangements. President Donald Trump has railed against Harvard, calling it a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism. The school filed a lawsuit April 21 over the administration's calls for changes to the university's leadership, governance and admissions policies. Since then, the administration has slashed the school's federal funding, moved to cut off enrolment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status. Contracts include scientific research, executive training The administration has identified about 30 contracts across nine agencies to be reviewed for cancellation, according to an administration official who provided details on the condition of anonymity. The contracts total roughly $US100 million, according to a senior administration official. The contracts include executive training for Department of Homeland Security officials, research on health outcomes related to energy drinks and a contract for graduate student research services. Agencies with contracts that are deemed critical are being directed not to halt them immediately, but to devise a plan to transition to a different vendor other than Harvard. The letter applies only to federal contracts with Harvard and not its remaining research grants. Trump laid into Harvard on social media over the weekend, threatening to cut an additional $US3 billion in federal grants and give it to trade schools across the United States. He did not explain which grants he was referring to or how they could be reallocated. The president also accused Harvard of refusing to release the names of its foreign students. In a new line of attack, he argued that students' home countries pay nothing toward their education and that some of the countries are "not at all friendly to the United States." International students are not eligible for federal financial aid, but Harvard offers its own aid to foreign and domestic students alike. "We are still waiting for the Foreign Student Lists from Harvard so that we can determine, after a ridiculous expenditure of BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, how many radicalised lunatics, troublemakers all, should not be let back into our Country," Trump said on social media. It was not clear exactly what the president was referring to. The federal government already has access to visa information and other records on foreign students at Harvard and other universities. The Department of Homeland Security has demanded that Harvard turn over a trove of files related to its foreign students, including disciplinary records and records related to "dangerous or violent activity." The Trump administration has asked federal agencies to cancel contracts with Harvard University worth about $US100 million ($A155 million), intensifying the US president's clash with the nation's oldest and wealthiest university. The government already has cancelled more than $US2.6 billion in federal research grants for the Ivy League school, which has pushed back on the administration's demands for changes to several of its policies. A letter sent from the General Services Administration, which oversees contracting and real estate for the federal government, directed agencies to review contracts with the university and seek alternate arrangements. President Donald Trump has railed against Harvard, calling it a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism. The school filed a lawsuit April 21 over the administration's calls for changes to the university's leadership, governance and admissions policies. Since then, the administration has slashed the school's federal funding, moved to cut off enrolment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status. Contracts include scientific research, executive training The administration has identified about 30 contracts across nine agencies to be reviewed for cancellation, according to an administration official who provided details on the condition of anonymity. The contracts total roughly $US100 million, according to a senior administration official. The contracts include executive training for Department of Homeland Security officials, research on health outcomes related to energy drinks and a contract for graduate student research services. Agencies with contracts that are deemed critical are being directed not to halt them immediately, but to devise a plan to transition to a different vendor other than Harvard. The letter applies only to federal contracts with Harvard and not its remaining research grants. Trump laid into Harvard on social media over the weekend, threatening to cut an additional $US3 billion in federal grants and give it to trade schools across the United States. He did not explain which grants he was referring to or how they could be reallocated. The president also accused Harvard of refusing to release the names of its foreign students. In a new line of attack, he argued that students' home countries pay nothing toward their education and that some of the countries are "not at all friendly to the United States." International students are not eligible for federal financial aid, but Harvard offers its own aid to foreign and domestic students alike. "We are still waiting for the Foreign Student Lists from Harvard so that we can determine, after a ridiculous expenditure of BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, how many radicalised lunatics, troublemakers all, should not be let back into our Country," Trump said on social media. It was not clear exactly what the president was referring to. The federal government already has access to visa information and other records on foreign students at Harvard and other universities. The Department of Homeland Security has demanded that Harvard turn over a trove of files related to its foreign students, including disciplinary records and records related to "dangerous or violent activity." The Trump administration has asked federal agencies to cancel contracts with Harvard University worth about $US100 million ($A155 million), intensifying the US president's clash with the nation's oldest and wealthiest university. The government already has cancelled more than $US2.6 billion in federal research grants for the Ivy League school, which has pushed back on the administration's demands for changes to several of its policies. A letter sent from the General Services Administration, which oversees contracting and real estate for the federal government, directed agencies to review contracts with the university and seek alternate arrangements. President Donald Trump has railed against Harvard, calling it a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism. The school filed a lawsuit April 21 over the administration's calls for changes to the university's leadership, governance and admissions policies. Since then, the administration has slashed the school's federal funding, moved to cut off enrolment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status. Contracts include scientific research, executive training The administration has identified about 30 contracts across nine agencies to be reviewed for cancellation, according to an administration official who provided details on the condition of anonymity. The contracts total roughly $US100 million, according to a senior administration official. The contracts include executive training for Department of Homeland Security officials, research on health outcomes related to energy drinks and a contract for graduate student research services. Agencies with contracts that are deemed critical are being directed not to halt them immediately, but to devise a plan to transition to a different vendor other than Harvard. The letter applies only to federal contracts with Harvard and not its remaining research grants. Trump laid into Harvard on social media over the weekend, threatening to cut an additional $US3 billion in federal grants and give it to trade schools across the United States. He did not explain which grants he was referring to or how they could be reallocated. The president also accused Harvard of refusing to release the names of its foreign students. In a new line of attack, he argued that students' home countries pay nothing toward their education and that some of the countries are "not at all friendly to the United States." International students are not eligible for federal financial aid, but Harvard offers its own aid to foreign and domestic students alike. "We are still waiting for the Foreign Student Lists from Harvard so that we can determine, after a ridiculous expenditure of BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, how many radicalised lunatics, troublemakers all, should not be let back into our Country," Trump said on social media. It was not clear exactly what the president was referring to. The federal government already has access to visa information and other records on foreign students at Harvard and other universities. The Department of Homeland Security has demanded that Harvard turn over a trove of files related to its foreign students, including disciplinary records and records related to "dangerous or violent activity."
