New York Times sues Microsoft and OpenAI

On December 27, the New York Times filed a lawsuit against Microsoft Corporation and technology company OpenAI for copyright infringement, claiming that the artificial intelligence (AI) platform ChatGPT developed by the two companies is unfair competition and is a threat to press freedom and society.

This is considered the first copyright infringement claim by a major US media organization against ChatGPT. The newspaper asked a federal court in Manhattan to hold Microsoft and OpenAI liable for “billions of dollars in actual and statutory damages” for illegally copying and using New York Times content. The lawsuit also requires Open AI to remove any AI chatbots that use New York Times digital content.

The New York Times holds Microsoft and OpenAI liable for “billions of dollars in actual and statutory damages” over copyright. (Photo: Reuters)

“Microsoft and OpenAI seek to profit from the New York Times’ massive investment in our journalism,” the lawsuit alleges, accusing Microsoft and OpenAI of using New York Times content without paying for it to create alternative products aimed at stealing readers from the paper.

Microsoft has reportedly committed $13 billion to OpenAI and has used some of its technology in its Bing search engine.

In one example cited in the lawsuit, Bing search results provided by ChatGPT “copied almost verbatim” from the New York Times’ Wirecutter product review page, but failed to attribute the content and remove referral links used by the newspaper to generate advertising fees, resulting in financial loss to the New York Times.

The US newspaper claims that Microsoft and OpenAI “placed special emphasis” on using New York Times digital content because of the “perceived reliability and accuracy of the data.”

“If the New York Times and other media organizations cannot produce and defend their independent journalism, this will create a vacuum that no computer or artificial intelligence can fill,” the complaint asserts, adding that mainstream journalism will no longer be respected and journalism budgets in society will also gradually decrease.

The New York Times also said it tried to negotiate with OpenAI and Microsoft in April 2023 to find an “amicable solution” to the copyright issue but was unsuccessful. Several other media outlets have reached agreements with OpenAI to use their content, including the AP and Axel Springer, Politico and Business Insider.

Microsoft and OpenAI have not yet responded to the lawsuit.

Tra Khanh (Source: russian.rt.com)

Source