Trump administration backs OpenAI in New York Times' copyright case over training of chatbots
- The U.S. Justice Department filed court papers on Tuesday supporting OpenAI's argument that training AI models on internet content is protected by copyright law's 'fair use' doctrine.
- The Justice Department argued that the 'creative possibilities and public benefits' of training large language models on such content 'far outweigh any competitive harm.'
- The New York Times sued OpenAI in 2023, alleging the company used billions of dollars' worth of its journalism without permission to train ChatGPT, sometimes reproducing Times content verbatim.
- The Times is joined by other news organizations including the New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Ziff Davis, and the Center for Investigative Reporting in similar legal actions.
- The Times argues OpenAI threatens journalism's financial sustainability by creating 'substitutive products' that free-ride on its investment in reporting without compensation.
The Trump administration has intervened in a major copyright dispute between OpenAI and the New York Times, filing court documents that support the AI company's use of published news articles to train its language models. The Justice Department argued that such training falls under copyright law's fair use doctrine and that the benefits to AI development and national security outweigh any competitive harm to publishers.
The New York Times, which filed suit against OpenAI in 2023, contends that the company unlawfully used billions of dollars' worth of journalism to build ChatGPT without permission or compensation. The Times has been joined by other major news organizations including the New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, and digital publisher Ziff Davis in challenging the practice. The Times specifically argues that OpenAI's approach threatens the financial viability of professional journalism by creating substitute products that undermine the advertising revenue model news organizations depend on.
This case reflects a broader global challenge as courts grapple with legal frameworks for emerging AI technologies. The government's position emphasizes national security and economic benefits, while publishers argue that allowing AI companies to use copyrighted content without payment would undermine the human-created content that sustains a healthy information ecosystem.
特朗普政府在《纽约时报》诉OpenAI案中支持后者
特朗普政府介入OpenAI与《纽约时报》的重大版权纠纷,提交法庭文件支持这家AI公司使用已发表新闻文章训练语言模型。司法部辩称,这种训练属于版权法的合理使用范畴,AI发展和国家安全的益处超过对出版商的任何竞争伤害。
2023年起诉OpenAI的《纽约时报》主张该公司非法使用价值数十亿美元的新闻内容来构建ChatGPT,未获许可或补偿。纽约每日新闻、芝加哥论坛报和数字出版商Ziff Davis等其他主要新闻机构已加入诉讼。时报特别主张OpenAI的做法通过创建替代产品来威胁专业新闻业的财务生存能力,这些产品破坏了新闻机构依赖的广告收入模式。
该案反映了全球范围内法院在应对新兴AI技术法律框架时面临的更广泛挑战。政府立场强调国家安全和经济效益,而出版商则主张允许AI公司在未付费的情况下使用受版权保护的内容,将破坏维持健康信息生态所需的人类创作内容。