A group of newspapers, including the New York Daily News and Chicago Tribune, have filed a lawsuit against tech giants Microsoft and OpenAI in New York federal court. The newspapers, owned by investment firm Alden Global Capital’s MediaNews Group, allege that the companies unlawfully used millions of their articles to train their generative artificial intelligence systems.
The lawsuit claims that Microsoft and OpenAI copied the newspapers’ content to train AI products such as Copilot and ChatGPT. This is not the first time these tech companies have faced legal action for similar reasons, with ongoing lawsuits brought by other news outlets like The New York Times, The Intercept, Raw Story, and AlterNet.
OpenAI, which has received significant financial backing from Microsoft, stated that they take great care to support news organizations in their product development. However, a spokesperson for Microsoft declined to comment on the complaint.
The lawsuit highlights the growing tension between copyright owners and tech companies over the use of data to train AI systems. The newspapers are seeking unspecified monetary damages and an injunction to prevent further infringement of their copyrighted content.
The plaintiffs, which also include the Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, San Jose Mercury News, Orange County Register, and Twin Cities Pioneer Press, are determined to hold Microsoft and OpenAI accountable for their alleged misuse of journalistic work. This case could set a precedent for future legal battles between news organizations and tech giants in the AI space.