News Outlets Split on AI Approach
Major news outlets are taking different approaches to navigate the potential threat of artificial intelligence (AI) to their businesses. While some are partnering with AI companies, others have opted to sue them for copyright infringement. This division among news organizations could impact their ability to effectively negotiate licensing agreements with major AI firms.
Recently, eight prominent regional U.S. newspapers joined The New York Times and other news organizations in suing ChatGPT parent company OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement. This adds weight to the legal challenges brought by The New York Times, which was previously the only major newspaper to pursue legal action against AI firms for copyright infringement. Smaller outlets like The Intercept, Raw Story, and AlterNet have also joined the legal battle against OpenAI and Microsoft.
In contrast, several other major news publishers, including the Financial Times, the Associated Press, and Axel Springer, have chosen to strike paid licensing deals with AI companies, which earn them millions of dollars annually. These deals undermine The New York Times' argument that it should receive billions of dollars in damage payments for copyright infringement.
The regional newspapers' lawsuit was filed in the same district as The New York Times' complaint, raising the possibility that the cases could be combined if overseen by the same judge. The New York Times' leverage in its lawsuit comes from the fact that AI firms actively pursued a licensing deal with the newspaper for months. On the other hand, the eight newspapers that joined the lawsuit have not been in active discussions with AI firms about licensing deals.
AI developers like OpenAI tend to keep the specifics of their data sources private, but many publishers believe AI firms are scraping copyrighted material without appropriate compensation. News organizations have followed different paths in the digital era, leading to varying objectives when negotiating with AI companies.
For example, advertising-based news businesses rely on search engine traffic, so they fear AI-based services that could deliver information without directing users to their websites. Licensing-focused businesses, such as the Associated Press, have less to lose by striking deals with AI companies, as their revenue comes from licensing their content. Older news companies with extensive archives may be more valuable to AI firms for training large language models, while newer outlets could provide real-time data and insights.
What remains unclear is how news organizations can establish more favorable partnerships with AI companies without a marketplace to facilitate agreements between buyers and sellers. Some publishers are exploring options such as TollBit, which is developing a marketplace to connect AI companies with verified publisher content for a dynamic fee. Additionally, Fox Corp. is using blockchain technology to help publishers track content scraping and better negotiate with AI companies.
