Microsoft and OpenAI Executives Privately Labeled AI Training as 'Theft' in Legal Filings

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Recent unsealed documents from The New York Times' copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft reveal that executives from both companies privately referred to their AI training methods as theft. The filings allege that the companies scraped paywalled content without detection, creating extensive training datasets while removing copyright notices.

This revelation is significant as it highlights the internal concerns of Microsoft and OpenAI regarding the impact of their practices on publishers. Microsoft’s director of Applied Science, Brent Hecht, noted a drastic decline in click-through traffic to Times content, attributing it to the launch of Copilot, which he described as a 'doom loop' for the content supply chain.

Looking ahead, the implications of these admissions could lead to increased scrutiny and potential regulatory actions against AI training practices. No further timeline was disclosed at the time of publication.

Original report

Unsealed Documents Reveal Microsoft and OpenAI Executives Privately Called AI Training “Theft”

AIInsider · James Dargan
Read at AIInsider

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