OpenAI staff knew the ‘existential threat’ AI posed to publishers, New York Times claims

The world's largest technology companies, including OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Adobe, are engaged in negotiations with prominent media outlets to establish agreements for using news content to train artificial intelligence technologies. These discussions are in their early stages, but aim to address copyright issues concerning AI products like text chatbots and image generators. Publishers like News Corp, Axel Springer, The New York Times, and The Guardian are reportedly involved in these talks.

The potential deals could see media organizations receiving subscription-style fees for their content, which would be used to develop AI chatbots such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard. This comes as media groups express significant concerns over AI's potential threat to the industry and the unauthorized use of their content. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson highlighted the industry's outrage, stating that media's collective intellectual property is under threat and that AI is designed to undermine journalism by diverting readers from news websites.

Publishers are keen to avoid repeating the mistakes of the early internet, where offering content for free eroded business models and benefited Big Tech. Discussions are also focused on developing a pricing model for news content used as AI training data, with some publishers suggesting an annual range of $5 million to $20 million. The New York Times, for instance, has since sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, alleging that its content was used to train AI models without authorization and seeking billions of dollars in damages. OpenAI has also reportedly offered news organizations between $1 million and $5 million per year for licensing, with a deal with News Corp reportedly worth over $250 million over five years. Separately, OpenAI has secured a licensing deal with the Financial Times for content use, though financial terms were not disclosed.

However, some publishing leaders believe the industry is working retroactively, as tech companies launched these products without prior consultation. Media analyst Claire Enders noted the complexity of the talks, suggesting that a single commercial arrangement for all media groups is unlikely. While tech companies aim to focus on AI's utility in newsrooms and are willing to pay to maintain industry relationships, publishers face the challenge of monetizing their content in a rapidly evolving AI landscape.