US government backs OpenAI in New York Times copyright case

The U.S. government has filed a brief backing OpenAI in its legal battle with the New York Times and other newspapers over the use of their content to train the language models behind ChatGPT. The brief, filed in a Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, suggests the U.S. government believes AI training generally constitutes fair use of copyrighted material.

This comes as a wave of cases from copyright owners, including authors, publishers, music labels, and news outlets, challenge AI training practices. The government's interest in the case is rooted in concerns about scientific advancement and national security. The New York Times, which initiated the lawsuit in 2023, alleges that OpenAI and its main backer, Microsoft, used numerous newspaper articles without permission to train ChatGPT.

This case is among many brought by copyright holders against tech companies over alleged misuse of their material to train AI systems. The outcome of these cases will likely hinge on whether AI systems can be deemed to make fair use of copyrighted material to create new, transformative content. The government's brief supports tech companies' argument that AI training is extraordinarily transformative, emphasizing how LLMs are already aiding research and innovation across various fields.

Constraining LLM development based on a misconstrued understanding of fair use could stifle creativity, scientific progress, and economic mobility, the brief argues.