OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, has announced a deal with Associated Press (AP) that grants the AI company access to AP’s archive of news stories dating back to 1985. This agreement comes at a time when US regulators are increasing their scrutiny of AI companies and their use of data. The specifics of the financial arrangement between OpenAI and AP have not been disclosed.
The partnership entails OpenAI licensing a portion of AP’s text archive, while AP will benefit from OpenAI’s technology and product expertise. The move comes in the wake of the US Federal Trade Commission launching an investigation into OpenAI, focusing on its use of third-party data to train its AI tools.
AI companies have faced legal action recently from users who claim their data is being used without permission. Generative AI services such as ChatGPT consume vast amounts of data from various sources to generate new content. However, it has been observed that this generated content often contains material from the original sources, sometimes with minimal modifications.
Earlier this year, AI-generated articles published by CNET were found to bear striking similarities to human-written articles from competitors such as Forbes. This discovery, along with a number of factual errors, prompted CNET to temporarily suspend its use of AI-written articles. They later published an AI policy in June, committing to transparency. While CNET sister site Bankrate still offers AI-generated articles, they have been thoroughly reviewed by third-party journalists to address any errors.
These incidents have raised concerns about how AI companies will acquire training data in the future. The agreement between OpenAI and AP demonstrates how firms can legally secure access to the necessary material. In addition, questions remain regarding the use of AI by media companies. AP intends to use its partnership with OpenAI to explore responsible use cases and potentially incorporate generative AI into future products and services.
AP is recognized for its use of automation in generating routine articles, such as corporate earnings reports and local sporting events. The organization introduced an AI-powered search engine earlier this year, enabling partners to access articles and photos using descriptive language.
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