The New York Times sued Microsoft

In a strong legal move, the prestigious newspaper The New York Times filed a lawsuit Wednesday in the United States against OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, and its main investor, Microsoft. The indictment focuses on alleged copyright infringement by using Times articles to train powerful Artificial Intelligence (AI) models.

The lawsuit alleges that both companies “seek to take advantage of the Times’ massive investment in its journalism, using its content to create substitute products without proper permission or compensation.”

As one of the most respected news groups in the United States, The New York Times has opted for a more belligerent approach to the sudden growth of AI chatbots, marking a difference with other media outlets such as Germany’s Axel Springer or the Associated Press (AP) agency, which have closed content deals with OpenAI.

In its lawsuit, The New York Times is seeking compensation for damages, as well as a court order for companies to stop using its content and destroy the data already collected. In addition, the lawsuit highlights the growing debate over copyright in the age of artificial intelligence.

Although a specific amount has not been specified, the Times argues that the alleged violation could have resulted in “billions of dollars in legal and actual damages.”

In response to the AFP consultation, neither OpenAI nor Microsoft commented.

It is worth noting that Microsoft, as a major investor in OpenAI, has implemented AI capabilities in its own products following the launch of ChatGPT last year. The AI models that drive Microsoft’s ChatGPT and Copilot were trained for years with content available on the Internet, under the assumption that it was possible to use them without the need for authorization or compensation to the original sources.

The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in New York, argues that the illegal use of the Times’ work to build AI products constitutes a potential threat and undermines its ability to deliver quality journalism. A Times spokesperson stressed, “These tools have been created and continue to use independent journalism and content that is only available because of us and our colleagues, who report, edit and verify it at great cost and considerable expertise“.

K. Tovar

Source: Bancaynegocios

(Source image reference: Stéphan Valentin, Unsplash)

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