The New York Times is taking legal action against OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming they broke copyright rules by using millions of the newspaper’s articles to train their AI models. The lawsuit argues that the AI models, like ChatGPT and Copilot, can produce content that copies, summarizes, and imitates the Times’ writing style. According to the Times, this harms its connection with readers and results in financial losses from subscriptions, licenses, ads, and partnerships.
The complaint suggests that these AI models pose a risk to good journalism by undermining news outlets’ ability to safeguard and make money from their content. The lawsuit claims that through Microsoft’s Bing Chat (now called “Copilot”) and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the defendants aim to benefit from The Times’ significant investment in journalism without asking for permission or making any payment.
At the same time, the lawsuit asserts that the launch of AI models trained on The Times’ material has been highly profitable for both Microsoft and OpenAI. The publication states that it tried to discuss fair compensation for the use of its content with both companies over several months but was unable to reach an agreement.
The New York Times’ Battle with OpenAI and Microsoft
“We value the rights of content creators and owners and are dedicated to collaborating with them to make sure they gain from AI technology and new ways of generating revenue,” said Lindsey Held, a spokesperson for OpenAI.
“Our ongoing discussions with the New York Times have been positive and are progressing constructively, so we are taken aback and disheartened by this turn of events. We are optimistic about finding a mutually beneficial way to collaborate, as we are already doing with many other publishers.”
The newspaper is taking legal action against both companies, accusing them of copyright infringement. The lawsuit seeks to hold them accountable for “billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages” for supposedly replicating its content. Additionally, it requests the court to stop OpenAI and Microsoft from training their AI models with its content and to remove the Times’ material from the datasets used by the companies.
The New York Times is among several news organizations that have blocked OpenAI’s web crawler in recent months. This prevents the AI company from gathering content from the Times’ website for training AI models. The BBC, CNN, and Reuters have also taken steps to block OpenAI’s web crawler.
On the other hand, some publications are more open to AI, especially when it comes with financial benefits. Axel Springer, the owner of Politico and Business Insider, made a deal with OpenAI to allow ChatGPT to directly access information from both sources. Additionally, the Associated Press has agreed to let OpenAI train its models using its news stories for the next two years.
Conclusion
The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging they violated copyright by using its articles for AI training. The lawsuit claims AI models like ChatGPT and Copilot mimic the Times’ style, causing financial losses. It suggests these models threaten journalism, benefitting companies without permission. Despite profitability, negotiations for fair compensation failed. The battle involves blocking web crawlers, revealing a divided stance among publishers on AI collaboration.
