Small & Gutsy Features TechTainment™, the Confluence of Entertainment, Technology & Law

 

The conference is coming up on October 16th

For more information and to purchase tickets to TechTainment™:

https://www.laipla.net/techtainment-2025/

Being a professor in the age of AI — particularly generative AI — is both exciting and deeply challenging. As educators, we recognize that technology is evolving at a pace with which, even seasoned technologists struggle to keep up. Students are increasingly tempted to let AI do the thinking for them, believing they’re being efficient when, in fact, they may be shortcutting the deeper learning process.

Using AI tools like ChatGPT should not be about replacing critical thought or original research. It’s about enhancing the learning journey, not skipping it. While these tools can assist in discovery, ideation, and even structure, they cannot substitute the human insights that come from struggle, context, collaboration, and lived experience.

That’s why I challenge my students to think critically: What happens when the sources AI provides don't match course materials? What if AI misses the nuances, the legal precedents, or the emerging ethics in a topic? The danger is not just in misinformation — it's in the erosion of personal accountability and intellectual depth.

This exact tension — between innovation and integrity — is what makes events like TechTainment™ so necessary.

The intersection of technology, entertainment, and the law is a rapidly evolving space filled with complex and often controversial issues.

 There are a multitude of issues at the intersection of these areas. I am going to name a few, but my guest today has knowledge and depth that will convince you not to miss the upcoming 1-day TechTainment™ event. So, here goes:

1. Intellectual Property (IP) Challenges

• Piracy & Copyright Infringement
   Digital content is frequently shared illegally through unauthorized streaming and file-sharing platforms, causing major revenue losses.
• AI-Generated Content
   Legal ownership of AI-created art, music, or video remains uncertain. If AI uses copyrighted inputs to generate new outputs, is the result derivative, transformative, or something else entirely?
• Remixes, Memes & Fair Use
   Social media culture thrives on remixing existing works. However, the boundaries of ‘fair use’ are unclear, leaving creators legally vulnerable and platforms uncertain about enforcement.

2. AI and Deepfakes

• Fake Celebrity Content
   Deepfakes and voice cloning enable unauthorized, misleading, or defamatory representations of public figures—often used in fake ads, explicit content, or political misinformation.
• Consent & Image Rights
   There’s a growing legal and ethical concern over the use of a person’s likeness, voice, or performance without their consent, especially in AI-generated content.
• Legal Lag
   The rapid advancement of generative AI and deepfake technologies has outpaced existing laws, creating enforcement gaps and legislative uncertainty.
  
  

3. Streaming & Distribution Rights

• Global Licensing Issues
   Rights to distribute content differ by region. Streaming platforms face legal complexity in acquiring and managing these rights across jurisdictions.

·       Residuals & Fair Pay
 Creatives (writers, actors, directors) are demanding transparent compensation models for streamed content. This has led to major labor actions (e.g., 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes).

·       Windowing Conflicts
 Studios and platforms debate how long content should remain exclusive to one service before being released elsewhere — impacting revenue models and consumer access.

4. Content Moderation & Censorship

• Platform Liability
   Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch must balance free expression with moderating harmful content. Legal responsibility for user-generated content remains a contentious issue.
  
  
• Freedom of Speech vs. Harmful Content
   Legal systems struggle to balance free speech rights with the need to curb misinformation, hate speech, and online harassment.
  
  
• Government Regulations
   Laws differ by region
  
  
  

5. Privacy & Surveillance

·       Data Collection
 Entertainment platforms like Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube gather extensive user data (viewing habits, preferences, location, device usage). The ways this data is analyzed, monetized, or shared with third parties remain legally ambiguous and often undisclosed.

·       Facial Recognition & Biometrics
 Increasing use of biometric technologies in entertainment spaces—such as facial recognition at concerts, stadiums, and theme parks—raises major privacy concerns. There's a lack of clear legal guidelines around consent, storage, and misuse of biometric data.

·       Children’s Privacy
 Platforms aimed at children must comply with strict regulations like the Children’s Online Privacy Protections

6. Content Ownership in the Creator Economy

• Platform vs. Creator Control: Platforms like YouTube, TikTok and others often control monetization and visibility algorithms, limiting creator autonomy.
• Copyright Takedowns & Abuse

7. NFTs & Digital Ownership

·       Fraud & Scams

• Copyright Confusion

Emerging Legal Areas to Watch

• Generative AI law
• Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Laws 
• Content moderation laws
• Digital labor rights
• Smart contracts & blockchain in entertainment

 The primary issues revolve around intellectual property rights, data privacy, platform regulation, AI ethics, and compensation for creative labor. As technology outpaces regulation, legal systems are constantly playing catch-up — often with high-stakes consequences for creators, companies, and consumers. It’s about thought leadership and responsible innovation. It’s about ensuring that human value — ethical reasoning, creative spark, legal foresight — isn’t lost in the digital noise.

Our country is at a crossroads, and events like TechTainment™ are more than just conferences — they are forums for the future. As educators, professionals, and creators, our job is not to reject AI but to ensure we don’t outsource our judgment, our integrity, or our creativity. Let AI and other innovative technology be tools — but let us be the ones who drive its purpose.

The conference is coming up on October 16th

For more information and to purchase tickets to TechTainment™:

https://www.laipla.net/techtainment-2025/

A huge thank you to Trope & Trope Law Group, protecting your IP Assets worldwide, for generously supporting this episode!

For more Small & Gutsy episodes, check out our website: www.smallandgutsy.org