The $8 million AI music scam | The Vergecast

在本期 Vergecast 节目中，主持人大卫·皮尔斯（David Pierce）与《连线》杂志记者凯特·尼布斯（Kate Nibs）探讨了首起涉 AIGC 音乐的重大流媒体欺诈案，该案的核心人物是一名叫迈克·史密斯（Mike Smith）的男子。 节目开场是皮尔斯带来的时长 90 秒的 2026 年 10 月 14 日星期三新闻简报。话题包括苹果售价 299 美元的新款智能显示屏 Apple Home View，目前该产品在消费者反响不一的情况下正接受预订；《堡垒之夜》（Fortnite）通过重新编写的反作弊软件登陆 Linux 系统；彭博社报道称，由于技术工具的积累，Rockstar 在《GTA 6》之后的开发时间表将会加快；即将推出的《塞尔达传说：时之笛》（The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time）重制版；以及人工智能代理与网站之间关于数据访问的冲突日益加剧，其中摩根大通（JPMorgan Chase）首席执行官杰米·戴蒙（Jamie Dimon）阻止代理代表客户执行银行任务便是这一现象的突显。 核心讨论转向了迈克·史密斯，他最近被判处偿还 8,091,843.64 美元，并因流媒体欺诈面临 18 个月的监禁。尼布斯解释说，史密斯最初并非技术诈骗犯，而是北卡罗来纳州的一名前医疗诊所运营者，他曾花费多年时间试图闯入音乐界，身兼艺术家、制作人和各种项目的支持者，其中包括一档在 BET 播出的嘻哈真人秀节目。 当诸如 Boomy 之类的人工智能音乐生成工具出现时，史密斯利用它们生成了数十万首归属于虚构音乐人的 AI 歌曲。随后，他利用机器人网络在各大流媒体服务上循环播放这些曲目，最终累积了数百万美元的版税。 皮尔斯和尼布斯讨论了该案中的法律和技术灰色地带。将人工智能生成的音乐放在流媒体平台上并未被明确禁止，且法律斗争相当复杂，以至于史密斯最初聘请了吹牛老爹（Diddy）的法律团队并作无罪抗辩，直到最终接受认罪协议。尼布斯指出，控方将史密斯作为一个典型案例，旨在震慑大规模的流媒体欺诈和 AI 垃圾内容生成。然而，尼布斯和皮尔斯指出，音乐和流媒体行业仍然充斥着类似的手法，例如人类艺术家和各方人员为了牟利或操纵预测市场而人为提高流媒体播放量。 各大平台最近开始打击此类行为，其中 Spotify 删除了 7500 万首人工智能生成的歌曲，但 AI 辅助内容的庞大体量使得全面的监管极其困难。尼布斯暗示，虽然史密斯是因为在美国本土运营且极易被追踪而落网，但未来的骗子可能会采用更好的隐蔽手段和跨国战术。 节目最后是标准的节目结束语、制作人员名单以及订阅 The Verge 的提醒。

In this episode of the Vergecast, host David Pierce talks with Wired reporter Kate Nibs about one of the first major streaming fraud cases involving AI music, centering on a man named Mike Smith. The show opens with Pierce's 90-second news roundup for Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Topics include Apple’s new $299 smart display, the Apple Home View, which is currently up for pre-order amidst mixed consumer reactions; Fortnite coming to Linux via reworked anti-cheat software; Bloomberg reports that Rockstar's post-GTA 6 timeline will be faster due to built-up tech tools; the upcoming remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; and a growing clash between AI agents and websites over data access, highlighted by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon blocking agents from performing banking tasks on behalf of customers. The main discussion shifts to Mike Smith, who was recently ordered to repay $8,091,843.64 and faces an 18-month prison sentence for streaming fraud. Nibs explains that Smith was not originally a tech scammer, but a former healthcare clinic operator in North Carolina who had spent years trying to break into the music industry as an artist, producer, and backer of various projects, including a BET-aired hip-hop reality show. When generative AI music tools like Boomy emerged, Smith leveraged them to generate hundreds of thousands of AI songs attributed to fictitious musical artists. He then used networks of bots to stream these tracks on continuous loops across major streaming services, ultimately accumulating millions of dollars in royalties. Pierce and Nibs discuss the legal and technical gray areas of the case. Putting AI-generated music on streaming platforms was not explicitly prohibited, and the legal battle was complex enough that Smith initially hired Diddy’s legal team and pleaded not guilty before ultimately accepting a plea. Nibs notes that the prosecution treated Smith as an example to deter widespread streaming fraud and AI slop generation. However, Nibs and Pierce point out that the music and streaming industries are still rife with similar tactics, such as human artists and various actors artificially inflating streams for profit or to manipulate prediction markets. Platforms have recently begun cracking down, with Spotify removing 75 million AI-generated songs, but the sheer volume of AI-assisted content makes comprehensive policing extremely difficult. Nibs suggests that while Smith was caught because he operated from the United States and made himself easy to trace, future grifters will likely employ better obscurity and cross-border tactics. The episode concludes with standard show sign-offs, production credits, and reminders to subscribe to The Verge.