In this episode on GNC, Chris, the youngest son of Todd Cochrane, addresses the listeners following the unexpected passing of his father on September 8. Chris shares that the past week has been one of the most challenging times in his life, but gathering with family in Michigan provided some comfort. He expresses the difficulty of the situation, recounting the moment he received the news of his father’s heart attack, the subsequent calls to family members, and the emotional conversation he had with his dad over the phone before he passed away.

Chris reflects on the support from the podcasting community, highlighting the outpouring of love and recognition of Todd’s impact through comments on Facebook posts dedicated to him. Chris emphasizes the importance of family and his father’s love for them, stating that this experience has served as a wake-up call for them to spend more time together in the future.

Moving forward, Chris expresses the desire to honor his father’s legacy by continuing the Geek News Central podcast, with plans to work alongside his siblings to reach 2,000 episodes. He reassures listeners that the podcast isn’t ending, but may feature a slightly different approach. Chris intends to carry on Todd’s model of ensuring the podcast remains fun and engaging. He finishes the episode by thanking the audience for their support over the years and expresses hope to continue the legacy Todd built.

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On this special final New Media Show tribute episode, we honor the life and legacy of Todd Cochrane, podcasting pioneer, podcast hall of famer, founder of Blubrry and RawVoice, host of Geek News Central podcast, author of one of the first podcasting books, and co-host on The New Media Show for 13 years.

Todd’s influence on podcasting was profound: from launching one of the earliest shows in 2004, to creating the Podcast Awards, to championing open RSS and independent podcasters. His voice, conviction, and generosity shaped the medium and inspired countless creators.

Joining host Rob Greenlee Podcast Hall of Famer are Adam Curry is also a Podcast Hall of Famer, Mike Dell, VP at Blubrry, and Rob Walch, VP at Libsyn who is also a Podcast Hall of Famer as we reflect on Todd’s extraordinary journey and life, from Navy service to podcasting leader, and discuss his impact on the industry, his unwavering advocacy for creators, and the lessons he leaves for the future of podcasting.

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In a landmark settlement, Anthropic, a leading artificial intelligence company, has agreed to pay $1.5 billion to a group of authors and publishers after a judge ruled it had illegally downloaded and stored millions of copyrighted books, The New York Times reported.

The settlement is the largest payout in the history of U.S. copyright cases. Anthropic will pay $3,000 per work to 500,000 authors.

The agreement is a turning point in a continuing battle between A.I companies and copyright holders that spans more than 40 lawsuits across the country. Experts say the agreement could pave the way for more tech companies to pay rights holders through court decisions and settlements or through licensing fees.

“This is massive,” said Chad Hummel, a trial lawyer with the law firm McKool Smith, who is not involved in this case. “This will cause generative A.I. companies to sit up and take notice.”

The agreement is reminiscent of the early 2000s, when courts ruled that file-sharing services like Napster and Grokster infringed on rights holders by allowing copyrighted songs, movies, and other material to be shared free on the Internet.

The Verge reported: In what’s potentially the first major payout to creatives whose work was used to train AI systems, Anthropic has reached an agreement to pay “at least” a staggering $1.5 billion, plus interest, to authors to settle its class-action lawsuit. 

The amount brakes down to smaller payouts expected to be approximately $3,000 per book or work. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said it’s “believed to the the largest publicity reported recovery in the history of US copyright litigation.”

The settlement is subject to court approval, and a hearing will take place on September 8th. According to a press release, the final amount could be higher, in that approximately 500,000 works will likely be paid out, but if the total is higher than that, Anthropic will pay an additional $3,000 per work, and it all depends on the number of claims submitted. As part of the settlement, Anthropic must also destroy the original files it downloaded and any copies.

The Wall Street Journal reported: Artificial intelligence company Anthropic agreed to pay at least $1.5 billion to settle a copyright infringement lawsuit over its use of pirated books to train large-language models.

Lawyers for plaintiffs said in a court hearing Friday that, if approved, the proposed settlement would be the largest of its kind. 

The settlement could influence the outcome of pending litigation between other media companies and AI firms, and may push the tech companies to seek licensing agreement with content owners whose works are considered vital for training purposes.

The federal suit, filed in California last summer by three authors, alleged that Anthropic violated copyright laws by using millions of pirated works train its Claude AI models and tried to cover up its copyright theft.

The European Commission has waged a €2.95 billion fine against Google for “abusing its dominant position” in advertising technology. In its announcement, the Commission claims that Google’s alleged anticompetitive practices have increased costs for advertisers and publishers, potentially raising prices for consumers as a result, The Verge reported.

The Commission has ordered Google to come up with a plan to stop its anticompetitive practices that it must submit within 60 days. “If it fails to propose a viable plan, the Commission will not hesitate to impose an appropriate remedy,” the Commission states, adding that the solution may involve forcing Google to sell off parts of its ad tech business.

The European Commission opened an investigation into Google’s advertising technology business in June 2021, and later brought up the possibility of divesture in 2023. The US Department of Justice similarly asked a federal judge to break up Google’s ad tech business after determining that it violates antitrust laws.

The European Commission reported: The European Commission has fined Google €2.95 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules by distorting competition in the advertising technology industry.

It did so by favoring its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of competing providers and advertising technology and services to the detriment of competing providers of advertising technology services, advertiser and online publishers.

BBC reported: Google has been fined €2.95bn by the EU for allegedly abusing its power in the ad tech sector – the technology which determines which adverts should be placed online and where.

The European Commission said on Friday the tech giant had breached competition laws by favoring its own products for displaying online ads, to the detriment of rivals.

It comes amid increased scrutiny by regulators worldwide over the tech giant’s empire in online search and advertising.

Google told the BBC the Commission’s decision was “wrong” and it would appeal.

“It imposes an unjustified fine and requires changes that will hurt thousands of European businesses by making it harder for them to make money,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, global head of regulatory affairs at Google.

“There’s nothing anti-competitive in providing services for ad buyers and sellers, and there are more alternatives to our services than ever before.”