Disney and Universal sue AI firm Midjourney, AI tool can restore damaged artwork in hours

Disney and Universal are suing artificial intelligence (AI) firm Midjourney over its image generator, which the Hollywood giants allege is a “bottomless pit of plagiarism”. The two studios claim Midjourney’s tool makes “innumerable” copies of characters including Darth Vader from Star Wars, Frozen’s Elsa, and the Minions from Despicable Me. It is part of the entertainment industry’s ongoing love-hate relationship with AI. Many studios want to make use of the technology but are concerned that their creations could be stolen. Midjourney’s image generator makes images from typed requests or prompts. BBC

VodafoneThree, the newly-merged telecoms giant, has vowed to banish weak mobile phone signals across Britain this year as it pours £11bn into 5G. The company, formed by a £15bn tie-up between Vodafone and Three this month, vowed to fix 16,500 sq km of so-called mobile “not-spots” over the next six months so people can get better phone signals. The area targeted for improvement is 10 times the size of London. Bosses have also set a target of reaching 95pc geographic coverage and total population coverage by 2034 under ambitious plans revealed as part of the merger. Telegraph

While a smarter Siri may have been a no-show at WWDC, Alexa Plus, the generative AI-powered overhaul of Amazon’s voice assistant, is finally appearing in the wild. No one at The Verge has access yet, but Amazon spokesperson Eric Sveum tells me over a million people now do — up from “hundreds of thousands” just last month. And while it was initially a struggle to find anyone who had it, there is now evidence that Alexa Plus is finally out there, based on recent Reddit and Facebook user posts. The Verge

The first step is to scan the painting to create a damage map to show where restoration is needed. Photograph: Alex Kachkine, MIT

The centuries can leave their mark on oil paintings as wear and tear and natural ageing produce cracks, discoloration and patches where pieces of pigment have flaked off. Repairing the damage can take conservators years, so the effort is reserved for the most valuable works, but a fresh approach promises to transform the process by restoring aged artworks in hours. The technique draws on artificial intelligence and other computer tools to create a digital reconstruction of the damaged painting. This is then printed on to a transparent polymer sheet that is carefully laid over the work. The Guardian

A powerful new supercomputer will be built in Edinburgh after all, the chancellor has announced. Up to £750m has been put aside for the project, Rachel Reeves revealed as part of her spending review. The Conservatives, when in government, had previously pledged £800m for the project but in August, Labour scrapped the plans, claiming it was part of “unfunded commitments”. “We are investing in Scotland’s renewal, so working people are better off,” said Ms Reeves on Wednesday. Sky News

The Dolphin Surf is the smallest and most affordable BYD to reach UK shores, and in many ways, it’s the most convincing model in its range. For such a small car, it’s both impressively spacious and comfortable, with strong equipment levels and competitive pricing relative to the recent influx of new European competition. If it wasn’t for the likes of the Citroen e-C3 and Renault 5, we’d be singing its praises even more, but those cars offer a more sophistication to the drive – particularly in terms of powertrain calibration – and better functionality inside to keep the Dolphin Surf off the top of the class. Autoexpress