AI News Roundup – October 25, 2026

TL;DR

• Elvis Presley’s music rightsholders sued Anthropic, claiming Claude was trained on 274 of his songs without permission. They seek up to $150,000 per song, about $41 million (Billboard, The Guardian).
• The UK is launching an AI Biosecurity Lab with £100 million (about $134 million) of government money and up to £200 million in credits from OpenAI and Anthropic, with Google DeepMind as a research partner.
• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued OpenAI and Sam Altman, seeking an injunction that would include blocking minors from ChatGPT.
• Apollo’s chief economist says AI has delivered “zero financial payoff” to corporate America outside the tech giants so far.
• Sweden’s Government Offices block ChatGPT and Claude on staff computers from October 26, steering staff to Microsoft Copilot.
• Hugging Face’s $399 Microduck robot passed 20,000 preorders after Nvidia’s GTC Berlin keynote.
• Grok Imagine released Episode 1 of an AI-generated “Odyssey” series, about 7 minutes long.

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Why are Elvis Presley’s music owners suing Anthropic?

Short answer: They say Anthropic copied Presley’s songs to train Claude without permission. The lawsuit was filed on Friday, October 23, by a unit of Authentic Brands Group, which largely controls Elvis’s intellectual property, including much of his song catalog, and was co-filed by other entities that own Elvis rights, Billboard reports.

Detail	What the lawsuit says
Songs at issue	274 Presley compositions
Examples	“Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “All Shook Up,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “A Little Less Conversation”
Damages sought	Up to $150,000 per song, about $41 million (The Guardian)
Key claim	Anthropic’s guardrails on song outputs were ineffective

Lead attorney Richard Busch wrote that Anthropic “has built its entire business model based on copyright infringement at a scale never seen before.” The Guardian calls it one of the first major legal challenges brought directly by an artist’s estate against an AI developer. AI companies argue that training is protected by fair use, a question still pending across dozens of lawsuits, Billboard notes. A rep for Anthropic did not immediately respond to Billboard’s request for comment.

Why it matters: The fair-use fight over AI training is far from settled, and music is now one of its main battlegrounds. If you write lyrics or songs with AI tools like Claude, Suno or Udio, don’t copy or closely imitate real songs.

Sources: Billboard · The Guardian · Rolling Stone

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What is the UK’s new AI Biosecurity Lab?

Short answer: A new independent, non-profit organization that will use frontier AI to spot biological threats earlier and speed up vaccines and treatments. The UK government calls it the world’s first dedicated AI biosecurity organisation. It was announced on October 24.

Backer	Commitment (per GOV.UK)
UK government	£100 million in funding (about $134 million, per Bloomberg)
OpenAI	£100 million in compute and model credits, plus trusted access to its most capable relevant models through its Rosalind Biodefense programme
Anthropic	Up to £100 million in model credits, trusted model access and technical support
Google DeepMind	Research collaborations; will look to provide trusted access to frontier Gemini and specialised science models
Basecamp Research	Access to its AI-biology models and expertise

GOV.UK says it will work much like the UK’s AI Security Institute, with the autonomy to move like a frontier AI–bio company. According to City AM and the BBC, it’s part of a wider package announced ahead of the UK Budget that also gives the AI Security Institute an extra £120 million.

Why it matters: Frontier labs are now paying directly for government safety work. The same models you use for research, like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, are being pointed at pandemic defense.

Sources: GOV.UK · Bloomberg Law · City AM · BBC

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Why is Texas suing OpenAI?

Short answer: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says OpenAI marketed ChatGPT as safe and reliable but failed to protect Texans, including children. He sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman on October 23 under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices–Consumer Protection Act.

According to the Texas Tribune, the case was filed in Collin County district court. It asks for a wide-ranging injunction that would require OpenAI to block minors from the product and get third-party approval of new models from a court-appointed evaluator, among other restrictions. The Tribune also notes that Paxton is the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate and that Elon Musk is the largest single donor behind his campaign.

An OpenAI spokesperson told the Tribune the company has worked with experts to mitigate risks and is “committed to working with Texas and other states on advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry — not just one company.”

Why it matters: State lawsuits could bring age gates and outside reviews of new models. If teens at home or in your school use ChatGPT, expect the access rules to keep changing. See our best AI tools for students guide.

Sources: Texas Attorney General · Texas Tribune

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Is AI paying off for companies outside Big Tech?

Short answer: Not yet, according to Apollo chief economist Torsten Slok. In an October 24 note he wrote: “Despite massive investments and widespread hype around artificial intelligence, the technology has delivered zero financial payoff to corporate America outside of tech.”

Measure (Apollo note)	“Mag 7” tech giants	“S&P 493” (everyone else)
Revenue per worker	Rising	Flat
Profit margins	Rising	Flat
Productivity growth from AI	No signs yet across the economy	No signs yet across the economy

The “S&P 493” is the S&P 500 minus Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla. Slok says mainstream companies are starting to see token spending “not as a source of growth but as a cost center,” and adds: “AI may be a great calculator, but in business, intelligence is mostly judgment.” TechCrunch reported the note on October 25.

Why it matters: If your company is asking what its AI tools actually return, you’re not alone. Measure time saved and results, not just seats bought. Start with our best AI productivity tools guide.

Sources: Apollo · TechCrunch

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Why is Sweden’s government blocking ChatGPT and Claude?

Short answer: Information security. From Monday, October 26, the browser versions of ChatGPT and Claude can no longer be reached from staff computers at Sweden’s Government Offices (Regeringskansliet), Sveriges Radio reports. Staff are directed to approved tools, including Microsoft Copilot, which the Government Offices reviewed and then made more secure.

Digitalisation director Mikael Wettercrantz wrote on the staff intranet that using AI services without agreements can have consequences for information security. The block isn’t total: the Government Offices told SVT that staff can still reach the ChatGPT and Claude language models through Intric, its internal AI platform. Sweden’s Tax Agency and the National Board of Institutional Care already have similar blocks, and the Enforcement Authority is preparing a decision.

Why it matters: Employers are drawing a hard line between contracted AI tools and consumer chatbots. Check your workplace’s approved-tools list before pasting work data into any AI. See our Microsoft Copilot review and how to write an AI data retention policy.

Sources: Sveriges Radio · SVT · Decrypt

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What is Microduck, and why did 20,000 people preorder one?

Short answer: It’s a small open-source walking robot from Pollen Robotics, part of Hugging Face. After a viral video of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang playing with Microducks during his GTC Berlin keynote, preorders passed 20,000 units by the next day, Hugging Face’s Clem Delangue said, TechCrunch reports.

Spec (Pollen Robotics)	Microduck
Price	$399 before taxes and shipping
Height	25 cm biped
Motors	15
Sensors	Camera, plus LiDAR and two IMUs
Out of the box	7 trained moves, including walk, sit and stand, kick, grab, roller skating and getting back up
Software	SDK, simulation and RL training stack on GitHub (Apache-2.0)

Owners can train new tricks in simulation with reinforcement learning, deploy them to the robot and share them with the community. TechCrunch says Microducks are expected to be delivered in time for Christmas, and notes that Nvidia bought Hugging Face in September.

Why it matters: A $399 robot you can retrain at home makes reinforcement learning hands-on for hobbyists, students and developers. Browse more in our AI tools directory.

Sources: TechCrunch · Pollen Robotics

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Did Grok Imagine really make an AI “Odyssey”?

Short answer: It made the first episode. On Friday, October 23, Grok Imagine shared a 7-minute, AI-generated first episode of an “Odyssey” series on X, crediting the creative collaboration to Wonder Studios and director Dev Walker, Variety reports. In July, Elon Musk said Grok Imagine would make a full-length, “historically accurate” movie of The Odyssey before the end of 2026.

Why it matters: AI video is moving from short clips to multi-minute episodes. Expect more AI-made series, and more debate about quality and credit. Compare tools in our best AI video generators guide, or read our Grok and Runway reviews.

Sources: Variety

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What should you watch next?

• Anthropic’s response: Anthropic hadn’t publicly responded to the Elvis lawsuit at the time of writing. Watch for a fair-use defense and how other music cases are decided.
• Sweden’s block: It takes effect October 26. Watch whether other governments draw the same line between consumer chatbots and contracted tools.
• Microduck deliveries: TechCrunch says they’re expected in time for Christmas. Shipping more than 20,000 robots that fast is the real test.

AI Tools Optimizer is for education only. Figures come from company announcements, court filings as reported, and press reports linked above; verify primary sources before making decisions. This is not investment or legal advice.