🎧 Spotify sued over “billions” of fake Drake streams

Advertise | Sign Up | Upgrade

Greetings! Your latest quick tech update is here:

☀️ On this day: On November 4, 1879, James Jacob Ritty of Dayton, Ohio, patented the world’s first cash register. A saloon owner tired of employee theft, Ritty designed the device to record transactions using a mechanical counter — giving birth to the iconic “ka-ching” sound. His invention laid the foundation for modern point-of-sale systems and eventually evolved into NCR Corporation, a major player in computing and transaction technology.

What’s happening:

• 🎓 Tech giants ignore AI cheating epidemic

• 💥 Amazon hits record high after $38B OpenAI deal

• 🎧 Spotify sued over “billions” of fake Drake streams

• 🎄 Coca-Cola brings back AI for holiday ads

• 🏯 Studio Ghibli joins AI copyright fight

• + 📊 Daily poll and results

• + 📈 Trending tools and resources

Together with Zipchat

Ever heard of Agentic Commerce?

Every Shopify store will face Agentic Commerce eventually. The question is: are you ready?

Zipchat.ai turns traffic into profit with instant answers, cart recovery, and 24/7 support automation. Add the AI Chat-Bubble to your store or deploy it on WhatsApp to win Q4.

Use code NEWSLETTER10 for 10% off forever.

Try Zipchat free

Hand-picked news:

🎓 Tech giants ignore AI cheating epidemic ↗️LINK

• What: Students are increasingly using AI agents from OpenAI, Perplexity, and others to automate homework and quizzes, sparking alarm among educators. Despite clear evidence of misuse, tech companies show little urgency to stop it.

• Why: Firms market AI tools directly to students through giveaways and referral programs, framing them as study aids. Companies like Instructure, which runs the Canvas learning platform, say blocking AI agents is technically impossible and philosophically misguided.

• Impact: As AI tools infiltrate classrooms faster than guardrails can be built, educators warn students risk losing core learning skills—while tech giants profit and pass responsibility back to schools.

💥 Amazon hits record high after $38B OpenAI deal ↗️LINK

• What: OpenAI struck a $38B deal with Amazon Web Services to run its AI workloads using hundreds of thousands of Nvidia GPUs. The move marks OpenAI’s biggest shift away from Microsoft, which had been its exclusive cloud provider since 2019.

• Why: The deal gives OpenAI flexibility to scale its infrastructure through 2026 while strengthening AWS’s leadership in cloud computing. Sam Altman said the partnership is key to “scaling frontier AI.”

• Impact: Amazon shares jumped 4% to a record close, signaling investor optimism. The agreement diversifies OpenAI’s cloud base and deepens the competition among AWS, Microsoft, and Google for AI dominance.

🎧 Spotify sued over “billions” of fake Drake streams ↗️LINK

• What: Spotify faces a federal class-action lawsuit led by rapper RBX, accusing the platform of ignoring “billions” of fake Drake streams between 2022–2025. The suit claims bots inflated his numbers, diverting royalties from legitimate artists and costing rights holders “hundreds of millions.”

• Why: Spotify’s pro-rata payment model means fake plays shrink the payout pool for real streams. Plaintiffs argue Spotify knew about abnormal activity — like VPN manipulation and 23-hour listening bots — but failed to act.

• Impact: The case could expose systemic weaknesses in streaming fraud detection, pressure Spotify to overhaul its royalty system, and spark wider scrutiny of streaming transparency.

🎄 Coca-Cola brings back AI for holiday ads ↗️LINK

• What: Coca-Cola has launched a new AI-generated holiday ad after last year’s mixed reception. The 2024 campaign drew criticism for its eerie AI-made humans and fears of lost creative jobs, but still racked up billions of views.

• Why: This year’s version swaps people for AI-generated animals, aiming for a warmer, less uncanny feel while keeping the buzz around AI-driven marketing.

• Impact: Coke’s decision shows how major brands are embracing AI despite controversy, signaling a broader shift toward algorithmic creativity in global advertising.

🏯 Studio Ghibli joins AI copyright fight ↗️LINK

• What: Japan’s Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA), representing Studio Ghibli, Bandai Namco, Square Enix, and others, has demanded OpenAI stop using their copyrighted works to train its new video-generating AI, Sora 2. CODA claims the tool’s outputs closely resemble famous Japanese IPs like Pokemon and Demon Slayer.

• Why: CODA says OpenAI’s use of Japanese content without permission likely violates copyright law. Japan requires prior consent for training data use, not mere opt-outs.

• Impact: The dispute highlights growing global tension over AI training rights. Japan’s government may intervene under the new AI Promotion Act if OpenAI fails to comply.

🧠 Keep your mind sharp with these newsletters!

Want to stay on top of the latest trends and discover new resources? Here are a few of my favorite newsletters that I think you'll find valuable.

• The AI Pulse - AI solutions you can use to work smarter and achieve results. Join & get 200+ AI-powered tools!

• Creator Spotlight - Your guide to growing and monetizing creator businesses. Join & learn how to earn!

• MGMT Playbook – Practical management insights delivered to your inbox every Wednesday, authored by Dave Kline.

• Dumbify – Your weekly guide to unconventional thinking, unique insights, and ridiculous ideas that show how 'dumb' thinking can lead to better solutions.

• Identity Jedi Newsletter - This is your space for actionable insights, bold ideas, and a little snark to keep things interesting.

Today’s Poll:

Vote and find out about the result tomorrow.

Yesterday’s Poll Result:

Do you think Apple quietly using Google AI is clever strategy or quiet surrender?

• A) Clever strategy – Use the best tools available - 68% 🏆

• B) Quiet surrender – It shows weakness in AI - 32%

Reader’s opinion:

From our partner:

CTV ads made easy: Black Friday edition

As with any digital ad campaign, the important thing is to reach streaming audiences who will convert. Roku’s self-service Ads Manager stands ready with powerful segmentation and targeting — plus creative upscaling tools that transform existing assets into CTV-ready video ads. Bonus: we’re gifting you $5K in ad credits when you spend your first $5K on Roku Ads Manager. Just sign up and use code GET5K. Terms apply.

Use code GET5K now

AI Engineering Academy (free course): The full program for becoming an AI engineer offers downloadable course certificates.

Gamma: Create unlimited presentations, websites, and more—in seconds. Everything you need to quickly create and refine content with advanced AI.

Numerous AI: Numerous provides the simplest, most powerful and cost-effective solution for using ChatGPT inside Google Sheets and Excel.

Typefully: Best social media tool for creators & businesses. Create, schedule, and publish social media posts on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, and more.