The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that the companies used millions of the newspaper’s articles without permission to train chatbots, including ChatGPT and Copilot. The Times claims to be the first major U.S. media organization to sue OpenAI. The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, accuses OpenAI and Microsoft of exploiting the newspaper’s journalism investment without proper compensation. The defendants argue that using copyrighted works for AI training falls under “fair use,” but The Times disputes this claim. The newspaper is not seeking a specific amount of damages but estimates damages in the billions of dollars and demands the destruction of chatbot models containing its material. Talks to avoid a lawsuit were unsuccessful. Other novelists, including David Baldacci, Jonathan Franzen, John Grisham, and Scott Turow, have also sued OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging potential co-opting of their books by AI systems. The lawsuit claims that chatbots make it harder for readers to distinguish fact from fiction, leading to potential revenue loss and the spread of misinformation.
Source – CGTN