NYT alleges Microsoft, OpenAI knew using news content was theft

The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence companies OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging the former company used millions of the Times' articles to train its flagship model, ChatGPT. According to court documents unsealed on Thursday, OpenAI allegedly scraped content from over 10 million articles, with nearly a third of that content originating from the New York Times alone.

Brent Hect, Microsoft's director of applied science, has called this "an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions" and possibly the "largest theft of labor in human history." Hect also warned that OpenAI may have engaged in an "accidental cover-up" when attempting to identify content within its systems that originated from the New York Times and other plaintiffs.

The newspaper initially filed the lawsuit three years ago, seeking damages for each article allegedly stolen. Microsoft became involved in the case after investing in OpenAI back in 2019. Several other news publishers, including Ziff Davis, CNET, Mother Jones, The Intercept, and numerous local U.S. newspapers, have joined the lawsuit seeking damages for the alleged theft of their copyrighted material.

While OpenAI has since signed content licensing deals with numerous news publishers globally, concerns persist that generative AI software could lead to a decline in internet news traffic. OpenAI engineers have admitted that adding citations with links to user queries, intended to alleviate these concerns, may not be effective as users are unlikely to click on them.

Both Microsoft and OpenAI argue that their use of news content qualifies as "transformative" and falls under the "fair use" laws. The US Department of Justice recently filed a brief in support of OpenAI and Microsoft, invoking scientific progress, economic growth, and national security in its argument. The plaintiffs are seeking a summary judgment in their favor, which, if granted by US District Judge Sidney Stein, would prevent the case from going to trial. However, a ruling is not expected until 2027.