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The New York Times has taken a significant step by filing a lawsuit against OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, and its primary investor, Microsoft, seeking unspecified damages for alleged copyright infringement. The lawsuit asserts that these entities have extensively used the newspaper’s content to create copyright-violating material. Instances indicated included ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Bing AI presenting paywalled text from the Times or its affiliates nearly word-for-word without proper attribution, and even incorporating inaccurate information falsely linked to the Times.
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The Times claims to be the first American media outlet to initiate such legal action, potentially setting a precedent for the industry to navigate similar issues. The rise of generative AI has raised concerns as it is often seen as a tool that regurgitates existing internet content, including copyrighted material. The underlying worry is that users could utilize ChatGPT to produce news-like articles derived from the Times, potentially reducing the need to visit the Times‘ website, impacting their readership and revenue.
An intriguing detail revealed in the Times’ own account of the lawsuit is that the newspaper attempted to resolve the matter amicably with OpenAI and Microsoft back in April. The discussion entailed the possibility of a “commercial agreement” and “technological guardrails,” yet these negotiations reached an impasse.
Surprisingly, this legal clash brings an unexpected twist during the holiday season, adding a different kind of narrative between Christmas and New Year’s.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence
OpenAI
