OpenAI and Microsoft face copyright infringement lawsuit from New York Times

The New York Times has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming that the companies used its content to train their artificial intelligence systems without permission or payment. The lawsuit argues that the use of the Times’s copyrighted articles and other content threatens the newspaper’s ability to provide its journalism services. The lawsuit also emphasizes the importance of independent journalism to democracy. This lawsuit is part of a series of similar cases brought against companies for the use of copyrighted materials. The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI and Microsoft should be held responsible for billions of dollars in damages. The Times also raised concerns about AI “hallucinations” and the misidentification of its content on Microsoft’s Bing Chat. The lawsuit does not specify a monetary claim but calls for the destruction of any chatbot models and training data that use copyrighted material from the Times.

OpenAI has faced previous lawsuits for its use of copyrighted materials, including a class-action lawsuit brought by fiction writers. A separate AI firm was also sued by the Getty photo archive for its use of images. The New York Times claims that negotiations with OpenAI and Microsoft over the use of its intellectual property had broken down, leading to the filing of the lawsuit. OpenAI recently announced a partnership with the German publishing company Axel Springer to incorporate authoritative content into its ChatGPT system.

Microsoft has not yet commented on the lawsuit, while OpenAI stated that its ongoing conversations with the New York Times had been productive and expressed surprise and disappointment with the lawsuit.