Edited by Li Zedong
According to a CCTV International News report on December 28, on the 27th local time, the New York Times sued Microsoft Corporation and the Open Artificial Intelligence Research Center (OpenAI) for copyright infringement.
It is understood that the New York Times has also become the first major American media to sue an artificial intelligence technology company for infringement. At present, OpenAI said it was "surprised and disappointed" by the lawsuit, and Microsoft did not comment on the matter.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the New York Times sued the "Open Artificial Intelligence Research Center" (OpenAI) and Microsoft on the 27th, accusing the two companies of using millions of articles in the media to train artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots such as ChatGPT without authorization.
According to the Associated Press, The New York Times began negotiations with OpenAI and Microsoft on copyright in April, but failed to reach a deal. On the 27th of this month, the New York Times filed a lawsuit in the federal district court in Manhattan, New York.
In Manhattan, New York, employees walk out of the headquarters building of the New York Times (Photo source: Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Xin)
The indictment alleges that OpenAI and Microsoft "attempted to ride the New York Times' huge investment in journalism by using the New York Times' content to create alternative products without permission or payment."
The New York Times said that in some cases, the defendant companies copied the content of the New York Times article verbatim and provided it to users who sought answers from the AI chatbot. The use of the New York Times' work in this way is illegal, mainly because these new products create potential competitors for news publishers.
"If The New York Times and other news organizations are unable to produce and protect independent news stories, there will be a vacuum in society that cannot be filled by computers and artificial intelligence," the indictment says. ”
The media outlet is seeking compensation and demanding that the two defendant companies stop using its content to train AI models and destroy the data it has collected.
While the exact amount of the claim was not mentioned, the New York Times said the infringement could result in "billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages," according to AFP.
Image source: Xinhua News Agency
The team of suing AI is constantly expanding
According to Red Star News, this year's explosion of AI has made many workers in the creative field feel threatened, and one of the core demands of the previous Hollywood actors and editors strike is to prohibit or restrict AI from replacing humans in script writing. Since the beginning of this year, it is not uncommon to sue AI companies for infringement.
In July, comedian Sarah Silverman sued OpenAI and Meta in San Francisco, accusing them of "ingesting" content from her new book to train AI models like ChatGPT.
In November, Hollywood journalist Julian Sancton filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft. Thornton alleges that the tech giants scraped copyrighted nonfiction works on the internet on a large scale without permission.
A large number of well-known American nonfiction authors, including Game of Thrones author George Martin, have also joined the class-action lawsuit.
In August, The Times changed its user agreement, which states that the site's content "may not be used in the construction of software and AI programs."
Image source: Visual China-VCG41N1188747468
Expert: Each article can be fined up to $150,000, OpenAI may face a "devastating blow"
U.S. legal experts pointed out that at present, the legislation in the field of AI at the legal regulatory level is still in a blank stage, and regulators need to keep up with the pace of development, so how the New York Times lawsuit is decided will have a huge impact on the attitude of future jurists towards AI.
Some experts pointed out that according to the current title V of the copyright law in the United States, each infringing content can be fined up to $150,000, and if it is true that there are millions of infringing articles as the New York Times said, then OpenAI will face a "devastating blow".
Tazina, a legal expert familiar with Silicon Valley's tech scene, doesn't think OpenAI will necessarily lose the case. In her view, copyright law allows for "fair use" of publicly reported news content. To prove that its content is "fair use," OpenAI can clearly explain its business model to the court and prove that there is no direct competition between the "AI tool trained with the copyrighted content of the New York Times" and The New York Times.
There are also some people in the U.S. legal community who have an open and inclusive attitude towards the legislative regulation of AI. According to legal expert Golde Mack, the efficiency of AI training should not be sacrificed for the sake of over-protecting copyright, "unless you want to live in the dark ages all the time." ”
Daily Economic News, Comprehensive CCTV International News, Xinhua News Agency, Red Star News
National Business Daily