Last month, The New York Times (NYT) sued OpenAI and Microsoft for allegedly infringing the newspaper’s copyrights using their data to train the language models that power their AI chatbots ChatGPT and Copilot, respectively. Now, a report has claimed that OpenAI is in discussions with several media firms to licence their work.
As per a report by Bloomberg, the ChatGPT maker is in discussions with media companies including CNN, Fox Corp. and Time to licence articles to train ChatGPT and also feature CNN‘s content in its products.
Furthermore, the negotiations are said to be beyond text licensing and the AI company may also use video and image content from the media firms. While CNN and Fox Corp have not commented on the report, Time’s CEO, Jessica Sibley, was optimistic about reaching an agreement with OpenAI.
“Time is in discussions with OpenAI, and we are optimistic about reaching an agreement that reflects the fair value of our content,” she was quoted as saying.
Why NYT sued OpenAI
NYT claimed that both ChatGPT and Copilot were trained on a massive dataset that included copyrighted New York Times articles. The lawsuit pointed out instances where ChatGPT directly quoted or heavily paraphrased Times’ articles.
“Defendants seek to free-ride on The Times’s massive investment in its journalism,” NYT said, adding that “using The Times’s content without payment to create products that substitute for The Times and steal audiences away from it.”
The publication also claimed that “If The Times and other news organisations cannot produce and protect their independent journalism, there will be a vacuum that no computer or artificial intelligence can fill. Less journalism will be produced, and the cost to society will be enormous.”
OpenAI was also sued for allegedly using the work of non-fiction authors to train their models. Authors including John Grisham, George R.R. Martin and Jonathan Franzen filed a lawsuit against the company in September.