OpenAI Challenges Ethical AI Criticisms Amidst New York Times Lawsuit

In a blog post dated January 8th, OpenAI responded to a lawsuit filed against it by The New York Times (NYT), asserting that the legal action is ‘without merit’ and detailing its collaborative initiatives with various news organizations.

OpenAI Challenges Ethical AI Criticisms Amidst New York Times Lawsuit

The blog post indicates that OpenAI was engaged in what seemed to be ‘progressing constructively‘ discussions with the NYT. The lawsuit, filed on December 27th, alleging unauthorized use of content for training AI chatbots, was described by OpenAI as a surprise and disappointment, as they learned about it through reading The New York Times.

OpenAI’s rebuttal refutes the claims made by the NYT and positions this as an opportunity to ‘clarify our business, intent, and how we build out the technology.’ The argument is built on four key claims. Firstly, OpenAI asserts active collaboration with news organizations, creating new opportunities for news. Secondly, it argues that its training practices fall under ‘fair use’ but offers an ‘opt-out’ option as ‘the right thing to do.’ Additionally, OpenAI claims that content ‘regurgitation’ is a rare bug undergoing correction. Lastly, the assertion is made that the NYT is not presenting the ‘full story.’ OpenAI highlights its partnerships in the media industry, including a recent collaboration with German media giant Axel Springer to address AI ‘hallucinations.’

The blog post also mentions the News/Media Alliance as an organization OpenAI is working with to ‘explore opportunities, discuss their concerns, and provide solutions.