AI Fair Use Ruling, Xiaomi Screenless AI Smartglasses, Streaming FIFA MR

Legal win for AI industry? A U.S. federal judge ruled that Anthropic’s use of copyrighted books to train its AI model Claude qualifies as fair use. Judge William Alsup likened it to a writer learning from prior work. However, he found Anthropic liable for copyright infringement for storing over 7 million pirated books in a central repository unrelated to training. That storage was not protected under fair use. Damages could be as high as $150,000 per infraction. A trial in December will address potential damages.

In the Northern District of California, U.S. federal judge Vince Chhabria, dismissed a copyright lawsuit from 13 authors against Meta. The plaintiffs, which include Sarah Silverman and Ta‑Nehisi Coates, claimed Meta improperly used their books to train its Llama AI model. The court found the plaintiffs failed to show market harm or dilution, and granted summary judgment for Meta. The decision applies only to the specific authors involved and does not affirm that Meta’s data use is lawful across the board.

On Last Week Tonight, John Oliver skewered the rise of “AI slop,” mass-produced, low-effort content flooding social media. In previous weeks, I’ve shared anthropomorphic cat dramas, and vlogs from Storm Troopers, Bigfoot and Jesus. It’s entertaining. It’s designed to go viral, and earn ad money. But, argues Oliver, it’s slop that drowns out real content. One landscape designer complains she can’t find pictures of real gardens on Pinterest anymore.

Chronicle Bets $12 Million AI Can Spot A Billion Dollar Franchise Chronicle’s founders think social platforms are where tomorrow’s blockbuster entertainment properties will be born, and they are using AI to grow them.

Motorica Raises $5 Million To Replace Mocap With Generative AI Motorica raises €5M to replace motion capture with generative AI, cutting animation time by 200x and cost by 90% for AAA game studios.

Virtuix has closed a $3.27 Million Series B‑2 crowd‑investment round, bringing total Series B funding to $18 million. The company’s valuation now sits at about $201 million, based on its $6.22/share pre‑IPO stock price. Virtuix is best known for its Omni One consumer VR treadmill—bundled optionally with the Pico 4E headset for $3,495—and is expanding into military training with its new Omni Mission Trainer (OMT), built in partnership with the U.S. Air Force.

Xiaomi has unveiled its AI-first smartglasses—officially named Xiaomi AI Glasses (yes, really). Like Meta’s Ray-Bans, there’s no display. Instead, they use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR1 chip and Xiaomi’s Hyper XiaoAi assistant to deliver voice-based responses triggered by speech and touch. With no screen or HUD, the emphasis is on audio-driven utility and lightweight design. The glasses feature a 12MP stabilized camera, five mics, dual speakers, and electrochromic lenses that darken on demand. They weigh just 40 grams, support Alipay QR payments, and offer up to 21 hours of standby. Shipping in September, they start at ¥1,999 (about $280) and come in three colors.

ARtillery Intelligence’s June 2025 report projects headworn AR revenue to grow from $2.6 billion in 2024 to $13.05 billion in 2029. That’s a compound annual growth rate of nearly 38 percent. This growth is led by enterprise productivity use cases, currently accounting for over 70 percent of market revenue. But consumer adoption is accelerating fast thanks to the success of “lite AR” smart glasses like Ray-Ban Meta. These tier-3, audio-first, non-display glasses have validated a new design direction: style-forward, AI-powered wearables that prioritize utility over immersion. Meta’s success has prompted rapid follow-on moves from Apple, Google (via Android XR), and Snap, with key consumer AR glasses expected by 2026–2027. ARtillery anticipates a major inflection in 2027 as these players enter the market.

Three New AI Platforms For Cinematic AI Productions Three new AI filmmaking platforms, Electric Sheep, Arcana Labs, and MovieFlo, take aim at Runway and LTX with integrated, production-ready video workflows.

DAZN has launched a free Horizon OS app on Meta Quest (Quest 2, 3, 3S, and Pro) that lets US users stream all FIFA Club World Cup matches in 3D. Research we saw at U Washington eight years ago has come to life. The app features an immersive 3D tabletop view, offering a diorama-style virtual representation of live games with player tracking. The quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final will also be available in 180° VR, similar to the NBA’s setup. Matches begin July 4, with finals July 13. Although the Club World Cup is US-hosted, this experience is only available to US-based Quest users.

This column is also a podcast hosted by its author, Charlie Fink, Ted Schilowitz former futurist for Fox and Paramount, and Rony Abovitz, founder of Magic Leap. This week our guest is Randy Marsden, founder and CEO of Skidattl.com. We can be found on Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube.