Seattle Times and Newsday are the latest publications to sue OpenAI and Microsoft
techcrunch ·
The Seattle Times and Newsday have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, joining other publications in alleging copyright infringement over the use of their journalism to train AI models. The lawsuit claims that generative AI could leave the journalism industry 'broken beyond repair,' describing it as 'a snake eating its own tail' that may destroy the organizations producing the content it relies on. It criticizes AI products like ChatGPT and CoPilot as 'rapacious consumers' that copy and imitate human-authored content for commercial gain. The lawsuit follows a similar action taken by The New York Times in 2023. The Seattle Times' case is notable because OpenAI and Microsoft have previously funded some of its journalism projects and fellowships. In response, a Microsoft spokesperson expressed surprise at the lawsuit but indicated willingness to discuss solutions.
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