Most Read This Week: Drake’s AI-Generated Drake Track

Here are this week's most-read stories on AI Business:

Tupac Estate Threatens Lawsuit Over AI-Generated Drake Track

Canadian rapper Drake is being threatened with legal action by the estate of Tupac Shakur for using an AI-generated version of the rapper’s voice in a new song without permission.

Drake released “Taylor Made Freestyle,” a diss track aimed at fellow rapper Kendric Lamar. The song featured synthetic versions of Tupac and Snoop Dogg. Tupac was shot and killed in 1996.

Lawyers on behalf of Tupac’s estate wrote the family was “deeply dismayed and disappointed” by the unauthorized use of the late rapper’s voice in the song.

The legal notice demands the song be removed from streaming platforms where it is publicly available.

“Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time,” according to the cease and desist letter.

In the song, Tupac can be heard encouraging Lamar to respond to Drake, saying: “You seem a little nervous about all the publicity. You asked for the smoke, now it seems you too busy for the smoke."

Tupac’s estate has threatened a lawsuit if the track is not deleted.

Read more about Drake’s AI diss track

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Six-Month-Old AI Startup Behind Devin Now Valued at $2B

Cognition Labs, the AI startup behind the viral software development platform Devin, has raised $175 million in venture capital funding, with its valuation soaring to $2 billion just six months after it launched.

Cognition was founded last November but went viral upon unveiling its AI-powered software development platform in March.

Founders Fund, the Peter Thiel-founded venture capital firm, was the sole investor in the round. The firm previously led Cognition’s series A funding round in March.

Cognition joins a list of impressive AI companies Founders Fund has backed, not limited to the now Google-owned DeepMind, ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Elon Musk’s brain interface startup Neuralink and data analytics firm Palantir.

Acknowledging the raise, Cognition thanked Founders Fund and previous investors including Khosla Ventures and serial tech investor Elad Gil in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The startup has its eyes set on further investment, however, with its post signing off with “Now on to the next commit.”

Find out more about Cognition Labs and Devin

AI-Powered Self-Driving Cars Race in Abu Dhabi's Autonomous Racing League

Motorsport embraced a new era over the weekend as the new Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) roared into action.

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A team from Germany’s Technical University of Munich (TUM) claimed victory at the Yas Marina circuit in an event that was described as “bringing a science experiment to the racetrack” by pushing the boundaries of autonomous technology.

And while the racing clearly has some way to go before it can compete with the spectacle offered by Formula One or NASCAR, organizers had no hesitation in hailing A2RL as a success.

Eight teams representing groups from countries as diverse as the United States, Germany, Switzerland, China, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Singapore and Italy took part vying for a $2.25 million prize fund.

All had access to the same car, the 2023 Dallara Super Formula, which in its standard form is recognized as the fastest open-wheel race car in the world behind an F1 machine, delivering in the region of 550 bhp and capable of speeds of up to 186 mph.

Read more about the AI-powered racing event

Google Invests Billions in Data Centers, AI Skills Development

Google is investing $3 billion to expand its data center locations in the U.S., including the creation of a new site in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The $2 billion project will be used to support the running of the company’s services and will also support Google’s AI training and inference efforts.

In addition to data center spending in Indiana, Google announced plans worth $1 billion to expand its three existing campuses in Virginia.

The expansion of Google’s Virginia sites brings Google’s total investment in the state to more than $4 billion.

Alongside its data center developments, Google is also expanding funding for projects to upskill workers.

The company announced the formation of a $75 million Google AI Opportunity Fund to provide AI skills training support for 1 million Americans.

The investment, which is being made through the company’s philanthropic arm, Google.org, will partner with nonprofits and education institutions to provide skills training at no cost.

Learn more about Google’s data center and skills projects

Homeland Security Enlists Top AI Experts to Mitigate Critical Infrastructure Risks

The Department of Homeland Security has enlisted AI experts to advise on AI safety and security impacts on critical infrastructure.

The AI Safety and Security Board, which is comprised of business leaders, public officials and academics, will provide recommendations to Homeland Security officials on potential AI risks

Appointees include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and Fei Fei Li, Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute co-director and former chief scientist for AI and machine learning at Google Cloud.

Several big tech CEOs are also on the board, including Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Lisa Su, CEO of AMD and IBM’s Arvind Krishna.

The appointments were not without criticism. A major concern raised is that the appointees prefer closed-source AI systems over open source alternatives.

Hugging Face CEO and cofounder Clement Delangue said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the biggest risk of AI is “concentration of power and I doubt this board will help fight it.”

Find out the 20 AI experts who made the cut