Could AI replace musicians altogether? Over 200 artists, including Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, and Jon Bon Jovi, have expressed their concern and called for protection from the predatory use of AI, according to CNBC.

The group released a letterexplaining AI’s “enormous potential to advance human creativity,” and underlined the possibility for powerful companies that can apply AI features to their original works, which could possibly replace musicians completely. “We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem,” the letter states.

The letter was aimed at large companies to pledge not to use AI-powered technologyto undermine artists and prevent them from earning fair compensation for their work. However, Michael Huppe, president and CEO of SoundExchange — a music tech organization that collects and distributes digital performance royalties, told CNBC Make It: “Unfortunately, if [streaming platforms and tech companies] feel they can do something without getting the proper licenses or without proper authorization, some of them will do it and some won’t.”

Well, what about copyright laws? AI-generated content merely mimics the artist’s voice; it technically does not directly copy lyrics or music. Therefore it does not directly defy copyright laws. However, Huppe expressed the need for these laws to be updated inorder to protect artists from irresponsible use of AI and stealing the artists’ sound for commercial profit. In response, Tennessee, the birthplace of country music, became the first state to pass legislation that will protect musicians from AI voice cloning, effective 1 July.

Ads will continue on Windows 11, too. Microsoft has explained that it’s begun testing the move that will make use of the Recommended section of the Start menu. What will the ads be? Apps from the Microsoft store, of course. This will replace the file recommendations that currently turn up in the same area, according to The Verge.

Much to our relief, this will only “appear only for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel in the US and will not apply to commercial devices (devices managed by organizations),” says Microsoft in a blog post.

The company wants feedback on the changes, though. Although the feature will be enabled by default, users will be allowed to disable the feature from their device settings. This way, Microsoft can track how their users respond to the feature, and may even scrap the idea if they find that it is an unpopular addition.

The concept of advertising on Windows isn’t new to Microsoft. The company has been experimenting with ads for more than ten years. They tested ads inside the File Explorer of Windows 11 last year but ended up disabling the experiment in beta versions of Windows 11. The Windows 10 lock screen and Start menu already have promotional spots so it’s not surprising to see them on Windows 11.

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