Tech Brew Ride Home

Episode: Does Anthropic Owe Me $3000?
Date: September 8, 2025
Host: Brian McCullough (Morning Brew)

Overview

In this episode, Brian McCullough examines the massive $1.5 billion settlement between AI startup Anthropic and a class of book authors over copyright infringements—pondering whether his own book might be eligible. The conversation explores broader implications for the AI industry, competitive tactics, and how this precedent could reshape the landscape. Other key topics include OpenAI's leap into animated filmmaking, the ongoing push to tokenize traditional assets like stocks, several major fundraising rounds in tech, and a reflective experiment on producing "AI-generated slop" in educational content.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Anthropic’s $1.5 Billion Copyright Settlement (00:04–09:30)

• The settlement:
  Anthropic agreed to pay $1.5 billion (plus interest) to authors of up to 500,000 books in response to a class action lawsuit for alleged unauthorized use of pirated texts to train its AI models. Each qualifying author could receive about $3,000.

  • Host reflection: Brian wonders if his own book on Internet history is among those used and considers applying for compensation.

• Industry Impact:
  This is one of the largest copyright recoveries for authors and a major development in the tech industry’s ongoing battles with creators over content use in AI training.

  • Quote [00:58]:
    “The settlement sends a powerful message to AI companies and creators alike that taking copyrighted works from these pirate websites is wrong.”
    — Justin Nelson (Plaintiffs’ Attorney, via Brian)

• Competitive Strategy:
  Guest insight from MG Siegler suggests Anthropic may be intentionally raising the financial bar for new market entrants, effectively pulling up the drawbridge against emerging competitors:

  • Quote [04:14]:
    “By settling for $1.5 billion, is Anthropic sort of pulling up a drawbridge, making it so that other startups can't possibly come into their castle? … Dario just set a floor price on AI training infringement. This is a message to all competitors: Open up those wallets if you want to keep playing this game.”

• Broader consequences:
  Large settlements like this could squeeze smaller players out, further consolidating the power of a handful of tech giants while leaving creators and journalists with uncertain prospects for fair compensation.

  • Quote [06:48]:
    “This move may actually jolt the market in a bad way by taking out would-be competitors for your words … with this move Anthropic may have just narrowed that field.”

2. OpenAI’s Foray Into Animated Filmmaking: “Critters” (09:30–11:07)

• New project:
  OpenAI is supporting “Critters”, an AI-generated feature-length animated film scheduled for worldwide theatrical release in 2026. The film is championed by Chad Nelson (OpenAI creative specialist) and involves major European studios.

• Production details:

  • Uses OpenAI’s GPT-5 and image models for much of its animation workflow.
  • Human actors will voice the characters; artists will provide hand-drawn sketches for input.
  • Budget is under $30M—a fraction of the usual cost for animated films.
  • The script is partially penned by writers from “Paddington in Peru”.
  • Profit-sharing mechanisms planned for the (small) team of 30.
  • Quote [10:26]:
    “OpenAI can say what its tools do all day long, but it's much more impactful if someone does it. That's a much better case study than me building a demo.”
    — Chad Nelson

• Goal:
  Demonstrate that AI tools can generate Hollywood-quality content and lower the bar for entry.

3. Tokenizing the Stock Market (11:07–13:31)

• Nasdaq’s Proposal:

  • Nasdaq has asked the US SEC to permit tokenized stock trading alongside traditional stock trading, aiming for rollout by Q3 2026.
  • This would mark the first time a major US stock exchange offers tokenized assets.
  • The move follows growing investor interest and efforts by other institutions (e.g., Coinbase, major banks) to explore tokenized securities.
  • Quote [12:12]:
    “If approved, the move would mark the first instance of tokenized securities being allowed to trade on a major US Stock exchange and also signify the most ambitious attempt yet by an exchange operator to bring blockchain based settlement into the national market system.”

• Caveats and considerations:

  • Tokenized stocks must provide the same rights as their traditional counterparts to be traded equivalently.
  • Some critics raise concerns about systemic risks in the absence of broader regulation.

• Industry context:
  Europe’s experience with less regulated tokenized stock trading highlights risks Nasdaq hopes to avoid.

4. Major Fundraising Rounds in AI and Data (13:31–18:47)

• Mistral AI (13:31):

  • The French AI startup is finalizing a €2B round at a valuation of $12B, its first fundraise since June 2024 (€5.8B).
  • ASML commits €1.3B, becoming the top shareholder.
  • Seen as Europe’s flagship AI company competing with US and Chinese giants.
  • Quote [15:11]: “A stake in Mistral would tie together two European leaders, and the cash from ASML could help Mistral make Europe less reliant on US And Chinese AI models.”

• Databricks (16:02):

  • Set to close $1B at a $100B valuation; expects to hit $4B revenue by January 2026.
  • CEO Ali Ghodsi highlights heavy investment in AI talent, with 650+ clients paying $1M+ yearly.

• ElevenLabs (17:57):

  • AI audio company allowing employees to sell shares at $6.6B, double previous value.
  • Known for hyperrealistic voice generation—used both for customer support and content like podcasts.

5. Personal Experiment: Can AI Replace Brian as a Tech Historian? (18:47–22:34)

• Weekend experiment:
  Brian created two 90-minute “boring history” videos—on Google and Amazon—using ChatGPT to generate scripts and ElevenLabs for narration, then posted them to YouTube for sleep aid content.

  • He took care to refine scripts and ensure factual accuracy, iterating prompts and verifying sources (which included his own past interviews).

• Reflections:

  • AI is now capable of replicating Brian’s core content output, but with important caveats:
    • The value of human curation lies in knowing what the AI gets right or wrong and steering it.
    • “Is there value in getting AI slop if it’s been brewed up by someone who knows their stuff?”
      — Brian McCullough [21:25]
  • Brian teases a follow-up experiment: generating an AI video on a topic he’s unfamiliar with, to see how difficult quality control is without subject matter expertise.
  • Quote [22:01]:
    “Yes, it's AI slop, but what I'm poking at here is, is it good AI slop? Is such a thing possible?”

• Invitation to listeners:

  • Audience encouraged to try out the videos and share thoughts on “the role for AI slop if artisans you trust are the ones behind it.”

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• [00:58]
  “The settlement sends a powerful message to AI companies and creators alike that taking copyrighted works from these pirate websites is wrong.”
  — Justin Nelson

• [04:14]
  “By settling for $1.5 billion, is Anthropic sort of pulling up a drawbridge, making it so that other startups can't possibly come into their castle? ... Dario just set a floor price on AI training infringement. This is a message to all competitors: Open up those wallets if you want to keep playing this game.”
  — MG Siegler (via Brian)

• [06:48]
  “This move may actually jolt the market in a bad way by taking out would-be competitors for your words ... with this move Anthropic may have just narrowed that field.”

• [10:26]
  “OpenAI can say what its tools do all day long, but it's much more impactful if someone does it. That's a much better case study than me building a demo.” — Chad Nelson

• [12:12]
  “If approved, the move would mark the first instance of tokenized securities being allowed to trade on a major US Stock exchange and also signify the most ambitious attempt yet by an exchange operator to bring blockchain based settlement into the national market system.”
  — Brian (quoting Reuters)

• [15:11]
  “A stake in Mistral would tie together two European leaders, and the cash from ASML could help Mistral make Europe less reliant on US And Chinese AI models.”

• [21:25]
  “Is there value in getting AI slop if it’s been brewed up by someone who knows their stuff?”
  — Brian McCullough

• [22:01]
  “Yes, it's AI slop, but what I'm poking at here is, is it good AI slop? Is such a thing possible?”
  — Brian McCullough

Final Thoughts

This episode offers a sharp cross-section of the shifting technology, legal, and creative landscapes as AI’s influence deepens. The Anthropic settlement is set to be a market-defining milestone, for better or worse. Ambitious productions like OpenAI’s “Critters” and experiments in AI-generated educational content point to a near future where the boundaries of authorship, compensation, and credibility are being radically redrawn—often by those with the vision and resources to push the envelope.

Next episode preview:
Brian will cover the latest iPhone event and revisit his ongoing AI content experiments.