NYT publisher says paper has spent over $20M suing OpenAI and Microsoft

In short: The New York Times says it has spent more than $20 million on its copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, and its publisher says the paper will keep fighting.

What's going on

The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in 2023. The paper says the companies used Times journalism without permission to help build AI systems. AI systems are computer programs that learn from large amounts of text, a bit like a student who improves by reading many books.

In an interview with WIRED, Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger said the case is now about two and a half years old. He said the Times has spent well over $20 million on the legal battle, and it is still not finished with “discovery,” which is the evidence-sharing phase of a lawsuit.

Sulzberger argued that AI companies spend huge sums on other inputs, like computer chips, data centers, and electricity, but often do not pay for the writing, reporting, books, and other work they learn from. He described this as a basic fairness and legal issue, not an anti-technology stance.

Sulzberger also said the Times is dealing with other pressure on journalism, including subpoenas served on Times reporters connected to reporting about a jet linked to Qatar and the Trump administration. He called the subpoenas unusual and said they were meant to intimidate journalists.

What to watch

This lawsuit could influence whether news outlets can demand permission and payment when their work is used to train AI. It also highlights a growing gap between large publishers that can afford long legal fights and smaller local newsrooms that cannot.

Source: Wired