Artificial intelligence (AI) tools have publishers worried about “fair use” of their content and the potential for revenue loss. With OpenAI introducing ChatGPT and other such technologies, publishers are increasingly anxious about potential traffic and revenue losses. As a result, the News Media Alliance, which consists of 2,000 publishers including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, has been conducting research into how AI tools are using paid-for content.
The key concern lies in the lack of attribution and links enabling publishers to monetize their content. This lack of recognition is hugely problematic as AI companies are able to scrape content and use it, without permission or payment, under the legal provision known as “fair use”. Companies such as Microsoft have launched AI tools that do feature attribution back to the original source, but largely these tools lack this feature. Recent examples include Google’s newly released AI engine, Bard, which does not feature any links back to content.
Publishers are instead exploring alternative options to prevent losses brought on by AI technology and to make up for the investment in their resources. Talks of legal pathways technology measures have been discussed, yet specifics in this area remain undisclosed. Although some firms such as BuzzFeed and CNET are attempting to use AI technology, others are still very wary of how it will affect search, particularly in terms of how it generates revenue.
Microsoft and Google are at the heart of the debate surrounding “fair use”. Microsoft’s Bing search tool does feature links to content; however, with Google’s Bard, the results often come without links or attribution, meaning that people are unlikely to click the link for more information. As for marketers, there are additionally worries around links being used for advertising through chat-based search, meaning that the prospect of people clicking on relevant links is low.
The News Media Alliance is trying to push the U.S. to look at copyright laws that would allow publishers to claim compensation for the use of AI tools. What’s more, Google has made stabs at resolving this issue through a deal with News Corp which seeks to pay publishers for content used by Google News Showcase, yet the release of the product in the U.S. has been delayed due to the perceived unfavorable terms.
Finally, copyright is additionally being defended against AI technology. In February, Getty Images took Stability AI, a Delaware-based AI art company to court over alleged infringements. The case is still pending.
The venture into AI technology is causing much unease amongst publishers and questions are being raised over fair use. Therefore, it is fundamental that companies, now more than ever, look to protect copyright and ensure that publishers are being credited for their efforts. It is clear that even with the emergence of AI, publishers still have much to say.
