NYT Accuses Microsoft of Building AI to Steal News

The New York Times has proposed amending its copyright infringement complaint against OpenAI and Microsoft. The updated filing specifically alleges that Microsoft encouraged OpenAI to pilfer copyrighted works by constructing a world-class supercomputing system.

This motion follows a Supreme Court ruling that altered the standard for contributory infringement, requiring plaintiffs to prove intentional inducement of illegal conduct. The NYT aims to align its claim against Microsoft with this new legal precedent.

In its filing, the NYT seeks to detail how Microsoft's supercomputer was tailor-made to infringe on copyright. It argues the system was built explicitly for training AI on copyrighted material, with a disproportionate weighting of NYT articles.

The newspaper contends that Microsoft's actions, including deploying AI models trained on NYT content across its product line, have substantially boosted its market capitalization. The company further alleges that AI outputs demonstrate direct substitution for NYT subscriptions, causing market and reputational harm.

Both OpenAI and Microsoft maintain that training AI on publicly available data constitutes fair use. However, the NYT's evidence of AI outputs mimicking or reproducing its articles is presented as strong proof of infringement and market substitution.