Microsoft exec called AI scraping the “largest theft of labor in human history”
Microsoft, OpenAI emails reveal fear of AI “doom loop” killing news orgs.
TL;DR
- Internal documents from Microsoft and OpenAI suggest executives were aware of the potential harm AI training on news content could cause to news organizations.
- Executives allegedly described the practice as "astonishing theft" and a threat to the economic foundations of news suppliers.
- Evidence suggests chatbots have led to significant drops in click-through rates for news sites, impacting their revenue.
- News organizations argue that chatbots substitute for their services and verbatim reproduction of articles undermines fair use claims.
- Microsoft and OpenAI allegedly circumvented paywalls and used data in ways not intended by content creators, without proper compensation or consent.
- News plaintiffs are seeking a trial, believing compelling evidence exists to prove AI chatbots replace them in their markets.