OpenAI is embroiled in legal battles with news outlets like The Intercept, Raw Story, and AlterNet as they file lawsuits in a federal court in New York. The allegations suggest that OpenAI, supported by Microsoft, improperly utilized articles from these news sources in training its ChatGPT AI system.

According to the claims, ChatGPT reproduces the copyrighted content of these news outlets almost exactly when prompted. The lawsuits assert that OpenAI violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by erasing copyright-related details from the articles. The news organizations are seeking monetary compensation of at least$2,500 per violation and a court order to halt OpenAI's unauthorized use of their content.

The legal action involves The Intercept's lawsuit also naming Microsoft, accusing its Bing AI chatbot of infringing on rights. Both OpenAI and Microsoft have yet to respond to these allegations. The publisher of Raw Story alleges that OpenAI instructed ChatGPT to disregard copyright restrictions. The CEO of The Intercept expresses hope that the legal proceedings will act as a warning to AI developers.

Why does this matter?

This litigation follows a similar case in December where The New York Times sued OpenAI, highlighting an escalating clash between tech companies and media outlets regarding the use of AI data. Tech companies argue for fair use, contending that these lawsuits threaten the trillion-dollar AI industry. Additionally, OpenAI accused The New York Times of hacking its systems, a claim refuted by the newspaper.