02/03/2026

LYFE MONDAY | MAR 2, 2026

25

Tracing AI made music

MOVIE REVIEW

SONY Group Corp has developed technology to identify the original source of music generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in a bid to protect the rights of creators, amid growing concern about the unauthorised use of copyrighted works in AI training. According to Kyodo News, with the new technology, composers, songwriters and publishers will be able to demand compensation from AI developers for the unauthorised use of their works, according to Sony Group. Sony’s technology can extract data from an underlying AI model and compare generated music with its original sources, quantifying their contribution to facilitate the collection of revenues. A spokesperson for the entertainment unit of the Japanese electronics group said: “We want to contribute to creating a system in which creators are properly compensated.” Groupwide efforts to protect content have become increasingly prominent, with Sony Music Entertainment in the US suing a company for copyright infringement in 2024 in connection with the use of AI to generate music. – Bernama-Kyodo French stars warn of ‘devouring hydra’ THOUSANDS of French actors and filmmakers have warned that artificial intelligence (AI) tools are “plundering” talent across the industry. “We are facing a profound upheaval in our profession with the arrival of AI,” said the op-ed in Le Parisien , which was signed by some 4,000 artistes. Signatories included many of French cinema’s brightest and best, such as actors Swann Arlaud, Franck Dubosc and Elodie Bouchez. While AI was “extraordinarily valuable in certain fields”, they said it was a “devouring hydra for artistes such as us”. The op-ed, released ahead of the 51st edition of the French film industry’s Cesar Awards, warned of the rise of “unauthorised voice cloning” which has taken the industry by storm. “Not a week goes by without an artiste sounding the alarm over the brutal competition AI is inflicting on their work,” it said. It also pointed to the hundreds of lesser known artistes who “can’t afford to refuse a contract” and sign away their voices to AI “despite the risks to their image and their future”. “This organised plundering is not hypothetical – it’s happening here and now. It’s intolerable and it’s taking place before our very eyes.” The artistes called for a clear “legal framework” so that AI can “coexist with artistic work, with the protection of copyright and related rights”. In recent months, the industry has introduced various initiatives to tackle the threat posed by AI and the flood of content replicating artistes and their voices almost perfectly. In January, eight French voice actors sent formal notices to two US companies that had cloned their voices without consent. Actors have also taken to the streets of Paris under the slogan “Touche pas a ma VF” (Hands off my French dub). Recently, Hollywood heavyweights accused the Chinese software Seedance 2.0, built by TikTok owner ByteDance, of copyright infringement after AI-generated videos, including of Tom Cruise brawling with Brad Pitt, went viral. – AFP

Folk horror with teeth Poser truly sells her character as an eccentric, hard-to-read woodland witch.

o Mother of Flies trades jump scares for ritual dread

Ű BY MARK MATHEN VICTOR

S URVIVING cancer only for it to recur, Mickey (Zelda Adams) decides to take a leap of faith by taking on the help of Solveig (Toby Poser), a reclusive healer living in the woods after receiving an invitation by her in one of Mickey’s dreams. Journeying deep into a forest with her father Jake (John Adams), Mickey undergoes a three day-long ritual in order for Solveig to remove the stomach tumour within her. As each day passes, the father-daughter duo are besieged by horrifying visions as they partake in Solveig’s odd, pagan rituals, which includes Jake consuming tea spiked with dangerous herbs. Earthy witchcraft over cheap scares A solid debut for 2026’s horror, particularly of the indie flavour, Mother of Flies is unlike most of its peers, effortlessly sidestepping cliches and modern jumpscare pitfalls. Though the story at its centre of a young girl stricken by a painful, silent killer affliction is simplistic enough to say it is held together by duct tape, the core of the film is clearly its depiction of witchcraft – in flashes of

The pagan imagery, framing and creative choices feel authentic rather than cinematic.

unnerving, grotesque and fantastical imagery. Mother of Flies ’ spells feel less engineered for mainstream audiences and manifests instead as though moulded from deep within the earth itself, blurring the lines between whether it was purely made for cinema entertainment or if it is actually lifted from dusty, arcane Wiccan pages. Family craft, sluggish pace The film is directed and written by, and stars

Solveig’s house looks otherworldly enough, raising speculation about AI use. – ALL PICS FROM SHUDDER 0 Director(s): John Adams, Toby Poser, Zelda Adams 0 Cast: John Adams, Toby Poser, Zelda Adams E-VALUE 9 ACTING 7 PLOT 6

Though her film credits are confined to small projects, Zelda shows promise as a strong actor. the Adams family – John and Poser are married in real life, with Zelda being their daughter (music is composed by them as well). Mother of Flies is impeccably put together for its low budget and largely succeeds at what it aims to do. That said, the film’s only true downfall, for mainstream and hardcore horror fans, is its methodological, consistently and painfully slow pacing. Despite clocking in at the universally accepted runtime of 90 minutes, Mother of Flies ’ pacing writhes by as slow as a lone maggot. Despite how well the film is shot, and told through its spoken poetry-esque dialogue and narrations, these do little to alleviate how slow Mother of Flies is and it might be the final barrier that stops it from being enjoyed by a wider audience.