REDMOND (dpa-AFX) - Unsealed court documents have revealed internal discussions at Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) and OpenAI about the use of news content to train artificial intelligence systems.
The documents were included in a summary judgment motion filed by news organisations, including The New York Times, in their copyright case against the companies.
Microsoft Director of Applied Science Brent Hecht reportedly warned that using news articles for AI training could amount to widespread theft of publishers' work and questioned whether the practice could qualify as fair use.
OpenAI executive Nick Turley also acknowledged that AI products could pose an 'existential threat' to publishers by providing information that users might otherwise obtain from news websites.
The filing cited Microsoft data showing click-through rates for some news organisations had fallen by as much as 93 percent. OpenAI employees also reportedly acknowledged that users may have less reason to visit news websites when chatbots provide information directly.
Microsoft said its AI products represent transformative fair use and argued that Hecht's comments reflected his personal views, not the company's position. OpenAI did not immediately comment.
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