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Seattle Times and Newsday are the latest publications to sue OpenAI and Microsoft
Confirmed
In Short: The Seattle Times and Newsday have taken legal action against OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing the technology companies of using their journalism to train AI systems without permission.
The Seattle Times and Newsday have taken legal action against OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing the technology companies of using their journalism to train AI systems without permission. According to Seattle Times President and CEO Alan Fisco, the newspaper believes it needs to protect journalism that costs millions of dollars each year to produce.
OpenAI and Microsoft have both expressed surprise at the legal action. OpenAI stated that its models are trained using publicly available data and are based on fair-use principles, while Microsoft acknowledged the importance of local journalism but was taken aback by the lawsuit.
The content allegedly used by the AI products from OpenAI and Microsoft includes parts of the newspapers' reporting and closely reworked articles, which the publications argue can provide information without requiring users to visit their websites or purchase subscriptions. This could undermine the business models of the news organizations.
The Seattle Times' lawsuit is particularly notable because Microsoft and OpenAI have funded some of the organization's journalism projects and fellowships. The case is part of a broader legal challenge to AI's use of journalistic content, with and other publications having previously sued the companies over alleged copyright infringement.
In a statement, a Microsoft spokesperson told GeekWire that the company is 'surprised by the lawsuit' but is 'always happy to sit down and explore solutions to this type of dispute.' The Seattle Times and Newsday argue that AI products can reproduce parts of their reporting, potentially harming their business models and the journalism industry as a whole.
What's confirmed
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- The content was allegedly added to datasets used for products such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Bing's AI features.
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- 25% off tickets now Back by popular demand: Save up to $300 on Disrupt Two more news organizations are suing OpenAI and Microsoft over the supposed use of their journalism to train AI.
- A lawsuit filed by The Seattle Times and Newsday argued that with the advent of AI, the journalism industry could become “broken beyond repair.” The lawsuit described generative AI as “a snake eating its own tail” that could “destroy the very organizations” that produce the content it’s trained on.