OpenAI, Microsoft sued by New York Times for use of its stories to train their chatbots

The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft for using its stories to train their chatbots. In the suit filed on Wednesday (Dec 27), the New York-headquartered media company said that OpenAI and Microsoft are advancing their technology through the "unlawful use of The Times’s work to create artificial intelligence products that compete with it" and "threatens The Times’s ability to provide that service."

Across the world, the readers are migrating to online platforms. This has pushed the news platforms to carve a niche for them in the digital space. Now, the arrival of Artificial Intelligence in media industry is not just threatening the jobs but also the trustworthiness of news generated from Artificial Intelligence.

How artificial intelligence chatbots 'learn'?

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Artificial intelligence companies scrape information available online. This also includes the articles published by media organisations, to train generative AI chatbots.

What is New York Times seeking?

The New York Times said that it "seeks to hold them responsible for the billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages that they owe for the unlawful copying and use of The Times’s uniquely valuable works."

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In the complaint, the New York Times said Microsoft and OpenAI "seek to free-tide on The Times’s massive investments in its journalism" by using it to build products without payment or permission.

So can't you use publicly available information pieces to build technology products?

Earlier this year, OpenAI and The Associated Press announced a deal for the artificial intelligence company to license AP’s archive of news stories.

But no such deal has been signed between OpenAI and the New York Times.

Lawsuit follows breakdown of talks between NYT, OpenAI

The lawsuit also follows the breakdowns in talks between the newspaper and the two companies.

The New York Times said it reached out to Microsoft and OpenAI in April to raise concerns about the use of its intellectual property.

But no resolution was reached between the two.

"These negotiations have not led to a resolution," the lawsuit said.

(With inputs from agencies)