OpenAI has formed agreements with news outlets like Vox Media and the Atlantic to enhance its AI models, sparking concerns within the journalism industry about traffic diversion and copyright infringement. While some organisations welcome the partnerships for financial gains, others are taking legal action against OpenAI for unauthorised use of their content.
OpenAI has entered into agreements with Vox Media and the Atlantic, announced on Wednesday, to use their content for training its AI models. This follows a similar arrangement with News Corp, which includes the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. In recent months, OpenAI has partnered with over 70 newspapers, news websites, and magazines.
The agreements are part of OpenAI’s efforts to incorporate reliable and current information into its AI models, addressing the issue of AI-generated false information. AI companies like OpenAI benefit from these deals by enhancing their products’ trustworthiness.
News organizations, however, express concerns that AI services could divert traffic and subscribers from their websites, further harming a sector already affected by social media’s rise. Nicholas Thompson, CEO of the Atlantic, noted the potential future significance of AI in web navigation.
These partnerships highlight a divide in the journalism industry. While some organizations are embracing financial opportunities with AI companies, others are pursuing legal action against OpenAI for using their copyrighted materials without consent. This legal battle includes entities like the New York Times and several newspapers under Alden Global Capital.
OpenAI and other tech giants such as Google and Meta have historically trained their AI on data scraped from the web, invoking the “fair use” doctrine of copyright law. However, access to current content behind paywalls remains essential for OpenAI to maintain its AI’s relevance.
Ultimately, this development will enable ChatGPT users to access headlines, article excerpts, and links from partnered news sites when seeking news updates.
