To put a stop to the practice of utilising its stories to train chatbots, The New York Times has taken legal action by suing OpenAI and Microsoft in a federal court.
The Times claimed in its lawsuit submitted on Wednesday in Manhattan’s Southern District of New York that OpenAI and Microsoft are developing AI products that compete with it and “threatens The Times’s ability to provide that service” by “unlawfully using The Times’s work to create artificial intelligence products that compete with it.”
Requests for comment were not promptly addressed by OpenAI and Microsoft.
The decline of print media has been exacerbated by the rise of internet reading, and although many magazines have also established online presences, the advent of AI has the potential to disrupt many markets, including the media.
In order to train generative AI chatbots, artificial intelligence businesses harvest material from the internet, including articles produced by media organisations. Investors have flocked to those companies in the billions.
The legal action “seeks to hold them responsible for the billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages that they owe for the unlawful copying and use of The Times’ uniquely valuable works,” the newspaper stated, without specifying the precise damages it is requesting.
By utilising it to create products without compensation or authorization, Microsoft and OpenAI “seek to free-ride on The Times’s massive investments in its journalism,” according to the Times’ complaint.
The Associated Press and the artificial intelligence firm OpenAI launched a partnership in July, with OpenAI licencing the AP’s news story archive.
To counter this, the Times has stated that it has never authorised anyone to utilise its articles in generative AI projects.
There seems to have been a breakdown in negotiations between the newspaper and both firms, which led to the lawsuit.
The Times stated in April that it contacted OpenAI and Microsoft to address concerns regarding the exploitation of its IP and to find a solution to the matter. The newspaper expressed its goal to “ensure it received fair value” for its material, “help develop GenAI technology in a responsible way that benefits society and supports a well-informed public,” and “facilitate the continuation of a healthy news ecosystem” during the talks.
Claiming that “these negotiations have not led to a resolution,” the complaint made that claim.