【Jerome Deeds Archives】

The Jerome Deeds ArchivesNew York Timesjust fired a shot across the bow to the burgeoning generative AI industry.

In a federal district court lawsuit, the Timessued ChatGPT maker OpenAI and its major financial backer Microsoft for unspecified billions in damages, alleging widespread use of the venerable newspaper's journalism to create copyright-infringing content. Examples given included ChatGPT and Microsoft's Bing AI spouting paywalled text from the Times or its subsidiaries almost verbatim without proper sourcing, and even including false information that wasimproperly attributed to the Times.

SEE ALSO: It’s not just you. ChatGPT is ‘lazier,’ OpenAI confirmed.

According to the Times, it is the first American media organization to file such a lawsuit, creating potential ripple effects across the industry as everyone tries to figure out exactly how to legislate this stuff. It's no secret that generative AI is less "artificial intelligence" and more "regurgitating existing internet content back at the user," and that content often includes copyrighted materials. The obvious concern is that users can use ChatGPT to generate so-called journalism sourced from the Times, thus reducing their need to actually give the Timesclicks and money.

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One interesting nugget in the Times' own report of its lawsuit is that the newspaper apparently tried to hash this out peacefully with OpenAI and Microsoft to no avail. The newspaper approached the tech companies in April to figure out an amicable resolution that may have included a "commercial agreement" and "technological guardrails" but those talks didn't go anywhere.


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  • ChatGPT gives longer responses if you 'tip it $200,' according to one user

Joke's on us for expecting the usual news-less void between Christmas and New Years.

Topics Artificial Intelligence OpenAI

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