This was reported by Bloomberg, as reported by Ukrinform.

Tech companies relied on millions of copyrighted articles to train chatbots like ChatGPT and other AI functions, possibly resulting in billions of dollars in legal and actual damages, according to a lawsuit filed by the NYT in New York on Wednesday. The newspaper also did not specify its monetary demands.

Additionally, NYT’s lawsuit states that the publication approached OpenAI and Microsoft about using its content in April, but the parties were unable to reach an agreement.

Microsoft is OpenAI’s largest sponsor. The company has applied the startup’s AI tools to many of its products. The NYT’s lawsuit alleges that Microsoft copied the newspaper’s articles verbatim for its Bing search engine and used OpenAI technology to increase its value by a trillion dollars.

“If Microsoft and OpenAI want to use our work for commercial purposes, the law requires them to first get our permission. They didn’t,” a spokesperson for the New York Times wrote in an emailed statement Wednesday.

In June, OpenAI signed a deal with the Associated Press to provide access to some of its archives, while in December the startup signed a three-year contract with German media company Axel Springer SE to use the works for an undisclosed sum.

Apple has reportedly begun negotiations with major publishers and media organizations for permission to use their content to train its generative AI system.

Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images