The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing them of using the newspaper’s content to train their artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The lawsuit alleges that the use of copyrighted articles by the technology firms has resulted in billions of dollars in damages for publishers.
According to the lawsuit, Microsoft and OpenAI utilized millions of copyrighted articles to train chatbots and other AI features, including ChatGPT. The New York Times did not specify the amount of monetary compensation it is seeking from the companies.
Representatives from Microsoft and OpenAI have not provided any comment regarding the lawsuit at this time.
OpenAI has faced criticism in the past for scraping text from the internet to train its popular chatbot. This lawsuit marks the first time a major media organization has challenged this practice. Other technology giants like Google and Facebook have entered into licensing deals with publishers to use their content.
OpenAI has recently reached agreements with the Associated Press and Axel Springer SE for accessing their archives and content. Despite reaching out to Microsoft and OpenAI in April to find an amicable solution, the New York Times claims that no resolution was reached.
OpenAI has faced multiple lawsuits from content producers who allege that their work has been improperly used for AI training. Comedian Sarah Silverman, author George R.R. Martin, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon are among those who have filed class action lawsuits against the company.
The legal proceedings for these lawsuits are still in the early stages and could take several years to fully resolve. A judge in San Francisco has already hinted at potentially trimming Sarah Silverman’s copyright lawsuit against OpenAI. A similar lawsuit by Silverman against Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook, has also been narrowed down.
OpenAI is reportedly in talks with investors for new financing at a staggering $100 billion valuation. This would make the company the second-most valuable startup in the United States.
Microsoft, being the largest backer of OpenAI, has incorporated the startup’s AI tools into several of its products. The New York Times lawsuit alleges that Microsoft copied the newspaper’s articles verbatim for its Bing search engine and utilized OpenAI’s technology to increase its value by a trillion dollars.
Since the debut of ChatGPT in November 2022, Microsoft’s share price has risen by 55%, leading to a market capitalization of $2.8 trillion. On Wednesday, the company’s shares were down by 0.3% to $373.38.
A spokesperson for the New York Times emphasized that if Microsoft and OpenAI wish to use their work for commercial purposes, they must obtain the newspaper’s permission as required by law. The newspaper alleges that this permission was not sought by the companies.
The lawsuit filed by The New York Times against OpenAI and Microsoft highlights the increasing tension between the media industry and AI technology, which has the potential to disrupt the news industry.
