Edition: July 4, 2026

Midjourney is seeking to compel three Hollywood studios to reveal their AI usage in an ongoing copyright infringement lawsuit, arguing that the studios' own use of AI could support its fair use defense. The studios, including Disney and Universal, sued Midjourney for allegedly creating images of copyrighted characters using its AI models. Midjourney claims that the studios are withholding documents that could show they are using AI in similar ways, and is seeking to overturn a judge's ruling limiting the discovery process.

Mistral AI, a French AI company, is gaining attention as a potential OpenAI competitor, with a unique approach to developing large language models and a growing valuation of $23.15 billion. The company is focused on helping governments and corporations adopt AI, and has announced plans to build a 'true AI cloud' with a €4 billion investment strategy. Mistral's CEO Arthur Mensch has become a public ambassador for the company's vision of AI, which prioritizes accessibility and sovereignty.

Alibaba has reportedly banned its employees from using Anthropic's Claude Code programming tool, citing it as high-risk software, and will instead use its own Qoder tool. The move comes as Anthropic works to close loopholes allowing Chinese users to access Claude, despite already prohibiting its use by Chinese companies. The ban is set to take effect on July 10.

The fanfiction community is in turmoil as writers and readers attempt to root out authors using generative AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT. Detection methods are being implemented, but their reliability is questionable and may lead to innocent writers being targeted. This conflict highlights the ongoing debate over the use of AI in creative communities.

A new Google commercial imagines the Founding Fathers using Google Workspace and AI tools to collaborate on the Declaration of Independence, showcasing a tongue-in-cheek and humorous take on historical events. The ad features the founders using AI to visualize the national seal and decline document access requests. The response to the commercial has been mixed, with some viewers finding it 'cringey' and 'tone deaf', particularly with regards to the AI elements.