OpenAI’s legal battle with The New York Times over data to train its AI models may still be ongoing. However, the company is making progress with other publishers, having signed contracts with some of France and Spain’s largest news sources.
On Wednesday, OpenAI announced its partnership with Le Monde and Prisa Media to provide French and Spanish news content for its chatbot, ChatGPT. In a blog post, OpenAI expressed excitement over this venture, which will allow users to access real-time news coverage from sources such as El País, Cinco Días, As, and El HuffPost while contributing to the company’s ever-growing data set.
“Over the coming months, ChatGPT users will be able to interact with relevant news content from these publishers through select summaries with attribution and enhanced links to the original articles, giving users the ability to access additional information or related articles from their news sites. We are continually making improvements to ChatGPT and are supporting the essential role of the news industry in delivering real-time, authoritative information to users.” – OpenAI
OpenAI has also revealed licensing deals with a few other content providers, including stock media library Shutterstock, The Associated Press, Axel Springer, and now Le Monde and Prisa Media. While the exact amounts remain undisclosed, it is estimated that OpenAI may be paying between $1 million and $5 million a year per publisher.
According to reports, OpenAI’s annualized revenue recently topped $2 billion. With a warchest of over $11 billion, these licensing deals may be a small expense for the company. However, they may also pose a barrier to entry for other AI vendors and startups seeking to compete in the space.
Hunter Walk, a partner at Homebrew and co-founder of Screendoor, argues that these deals could potentially stifle innovation and hinder competition. He suggests a regulator-imposed “safe harbor” that would protect AI vendors, startups, and researchers from legal liability as long as they adhere to certain transparency and ethical standards.
While the U.K. has attempted to address this issue by exempting text and data mining for AI training from copyright considerations for research purposes, these efforts have fallen through. In a rapidly evolving industry, it is crucial to continue exploring solutions to ensure fair compensation for publishers while also promoting a competitive market.
“Publishers should be paid – and paid fairly. Is there not an outcome, though, in which they’re paid and challengers to AI incumbents – as well as academics – get access to the same data as those incumbents? I should think so. Grants are one way. Larger VC checks are another.” – Hunter Walk
Ultimately, it is essential to address the impact of AI on the already-destabilized news industry. While publishers should be fairly compensated for the use of their content, there may also be room for carve-outs that allow for fair competition and access to valuable training data. Without finding a balance, the industry could face challenges such as continued “brain drain” in academia and limited access to training sets for smaller companies.
In light of ongoing legal battles and the potential implications of licensing deals, it is crucial to continue discussing and finding solutions to promote fair compensation, innovation, and competition in the AI industry.
