AI Daily News: SoftBank Proposes $1 Trillion AI Hub in Arizona
Friday, June 20, 2025
SoftBank Proposes $1 Trillion AI Hub in Arizona
SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son has proposed a $1 trillion industrial complex in Arizona, codenamed Project Crystal Land, focusing on robotics and artificial intelligence. The initiative aims to replicate China's Shenzhen manufacturing hub and bring advanced tech production back to the U.S. SoftBank is seeking collaboration with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and other tech companies, with discussions ongoing with U.S. federal and state authorities for potential tax incentives. The project's feasibility depends on support from the Trump administration and state governments. Source
Deezer Introduces AI Song Tags to Combat Fraud
Music streaming service Deezer has announced it will begin tagging AI-generated songs with warning labels to combat fraudulent activity on its platform. The initiative addresses the growing influx of AI-created music, which has surged from 10% to 18% of daily uploads, around 20,000 tracks. Deezer estimates that up to 70% of these plays may originate from bots or streaming farms designed to earn royalties. The company uses proprietary tools to detect AI-generated patterns and has committed to withholding royalty payments for songs involved in stream manipulation. Source
AI Critic Emily Bender Challenges Large Language Models
Emily Bender, a linguistics professor and AI critic, argues that current large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are overhyped 'plagiarism machines' that mimic human language without understanding meaning. She contends that these systems, coined 'stochastic parrots,' assemble text based on statistical patterns in their training data rather than genuine intelligence. Bender warns of the socio-economic and environmental repercussions of the AI race, including job displacement, reinforcement of societal biases, increased isolation, and high resource consumption. Source
Cloudflare CEO Warns of AI's Threat to Publishers
Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince highlighted at an event in Cannes that publishers are facing an existential threat in the age of artificial intelligence. As more people depend on AI-generated summaries for information, traditional search traffic referrals to publishers have dropped dramatically. This decline challenges the sustainability of publishers' business models. Prince noted that a decade ago, Google would crawl two pages for every visitor it sent, but that engagement has decreased significantly since users are less likely to delve into original sources now. To combat unauthorized content use, Cloudflare is developing a new tool aimed at preventing content scraping. Source
Mark Zuckerberg Embraces Tougher Persona Amid AI Focus
Mark Zuckerberg has undergone a significant personal and professional transformation, embracing a tougher, more combative public persona. Once a symbol of Silicon Valley’s tech idealism, Zuckerberg now channels a bolder, controversial image shaped by martial arts training, right-wing affiliations, and a focus on artificial intelligence. After facing criticism from policymakers and the public around Facebook's role in misinformation and data privacy scandals, he has realigned Meta's policies, loosening content moderation and reducing diversity efforts. This political realignment comes as Zuckerberg attempts to reinvent Meta as an AI powerhouse, competing against OpenAI, Google, and others. Source