SCOUT· 41%38m·2026-10-14·TechnologyThe $8 million AI music scam
A man named Mike Smith was recently sentenced to 18 months in prison, and a fine in excess of $8 million, for creating an AI system that faked billions of streams and earned him millions in royalties. Wired's Kate Knibbs explains how Smith pulled it off, how he got caught, and what this case means for the internet's…
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What people are saying
“The idea that this guy had to get probably billions of streams to make 8 million dollars should be a bigger part of the story. The amount of money real artists get from streaming is so low. It’s not like any of the other artists would have…”
“Looking forward to Internet2.0 - the one we have to rebuild after the bots ruin this one.”
“If he’s making music using AI, what version of that is acceptable and even adds value to society vs actual fraudulent behavior?”
“Yeah, jail is a bit extreme while crypto scams are tolerated.”
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