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Matthias Bastian

Matthias is the co-founder and publisher of THE DECODER, exploring how AI is fundamentally changing the relationship between humans and computers.
Matthias Bastian
Matthias Bastian View the LinkedIn Profile of Matthias Bastian
Sep 6, 2025
AI and society
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Read full article about: Apple is being sued by US authors who accuse it of using pirated books to train its AI models

Apple is facing a lawsuit in California from authors Grady Hendrix and Jennifer Roberson, who claim the company violated their copyrights by using their books to train AI models like OpenELM and Apple Intelligence. The lawsuit alleges Apple used the Books3 dataset, a collection of more than 196,000 pirated books that includes works by both authors. The complaint also accuses Apple of using its Applebot web crawler to copy website content and pull material from so-called shadow libraries.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages and a court order barring Apple from using their works. This case follows a recent lawsuit against Anthropic, which ended in a settlement after similar copyright claims.

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Matthias Bastian
Matthias Bastian View the LinkedIn Profile of Matthias Bastian
Sep 2, 2025
AI in practice
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Read full article about: ElevenLabs releases version 2 of its AI sound effects model with longer clips and better audio quality

ElevenLabs has updated its AI sound effects model to version 2, adding support for clips up to 30 seconds, seamless looping, and a 48 kHz sampling rate. Sound effects are generated using text prompts, either through the web interface or the API. Looping options are now built into the ElevenLabs Studio audio editor. You can try it out here.

The SFX library has been expanded and reorganized, with improved search, a favorites list, and a remix feature. The SB-1 soundboard now supports the updated model and offers MIDI connectivity.

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Matthias Bastian
Matthias Bastian View the LinkedIn Profile of Matthias Bastian
Sep 2, 2025
AI in practice
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Read full article about: OpenAI buys analytics startup Statsig and makes its founder the CTO for applications

OpenAI has acquired the analytics startup Statsig and named its founder, Vijaye Raji, as CTO for applications. Raji will report to Fidji Simo and take over technical leadership of ChatGPT and Codex.

Statsig, which focuses on A/B testing and feature management, is expected to speed up OpenAI's development cycles. OpenAI has already been using Statsig internally and now plans to fully integrate the platform. For now, Statsig will remain a separate unit in Seattle, with all employees joining OpenAI. The deal is valued at $1.1 billion, according to Bloomberg.

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Matthias Bastian
Matthias Bastian View the LinkedIn Profile of Matthias Bastian
Aug 31, 2025
AI and society
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Read full article about: WeChat rolls out AI labeling rules in China

WeChat is introducing new rules that require users to label any AI-generated content they share, including videos and public posts. The platform may also add its own visible or invisible labels to content to increase transparency.

When posting on a public WeChat account, users must indicate if any content—whether video, image, or text—was generated by AI and choose the appropriate category, including official/media, news, entertainment, personal opinion/reference only. | Image: Screenshot via WeChat

These changes follow China's government regulation on mandatory labeling of AI-generated content, which takes effect on September 1, 2025. Users who ignore the rules, such as by removing required labels or sharing misleading content, will face penalties, according to WeChat.

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Matthias Bastian
Matthias Bastian View the LinkedIn Profile of Matthias Bastian
Aug 30, 2025
AI in practice
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Read full article about: Alibaba develops a new AI chip for a wide range of inference tasks

Alibaba has developed a new AI chip, which is currently in testing, designed for a broad range of inference tasks, such as powering the responses from a smartphone voice assistant. The chip is manufactured by a Chinese company and is more versatile than Alibaba's older chips. It is designed for inference, not for training AI models—an area where China's biggest weakness lies compared to the US.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Alibaba's new chip is compatible with the Nvidia software platform, meaning engineers can repurpose programs written for Nvidia hardware. The chip helps to fill the void created after Nvidia ran into regulatory barriers restricting sales of its products in China. Alibaba was long one of Nvidia's biggest customers before these restrictions were put in place.

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