QUICK TAKE: New York Times vs. OpenAI
Spanish media companies recently sued Meta for unfair advertising competition.
I will be mixing in some thoughts on major international stories in 2024, as an addition to the Spain ones. Spain is, after all, changing withing a complex global 21st Century, is affected by world trends and is an example of a country dealing with them. Over Christmas, the New York Times has brought a case against Open AI and Microsoft for copyright infringement. What to do about AI and real-world, original media and journalism is going to be a debate everywhere for years to come. Only a few weeks ago, a group of media companies in Spain sued Meta for €550 million for unfair advertising competition.
Here is the full 69-page court filing. There have already been some good takes on Twitter from lawyers and AI people about where it might go in the legally, perhaps ending up at the Supreme Court. Reading through the document, though, the thing that struck me is the very strong argument they make, from the first paragraph, about the importance of reporting and journalism and the economic aspects of doing that properly. They are absolutely right, in this case.
“Defendants’ generative artificial intelligence (“GenAI”) tools rely on large language models (“LLMs”) that were built by copying and using millions of The Times’s copyrighted news articles, in-depth investigations, opinion pieces, reviews, how-to guides, and more”
“Independent journalism is vital to our democracy. It is also increasingly rare and valuable”
“Within a damaged information ecosystem that is awash in unreliable content, The Times’s journalism provides a service that has grown even more valuable to the public by supplying trustworthy information, news analysis, and commentary”
“Defendants seek to free-ride on The Times’s massive investment in its journalism by using it to build substitutive products without permission or payment”
“Microsoft uses these models to provide infringing content and, at times, misinformation to users of its products and online services”
“Groundbreaking, In-Depth Journalism and Breaking News at Great Cost. To produce world-class journalism, The Times invests an enormous amount of time, money, expertise, and talent, both in its newsroom and product, technology, and other supporting teams"
“Quite often, the most vital news reporting for society is the most resource-intensive”
“Subscription, advertising, licensing, and affiliate revenue make this reporting possible”
As you read through the docment, you can substitute your preferred news organisation or journalist for “New York Times”; the same principles hold. Playing with some of the AI tools of Christmas, there are going to be problems with AI and accuracy, misinformation, “latest” stories, and other aspects, as well as the economic issues the Times cites. Real-world, in-depth coverage of any news topic requires time and money to do properly.
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