A coalition of prominent Canadian news publishers has initiated legal action against OpenAI, alleging the unauthorised use of their journalistic content to train its generative artificial intelligence system, ChatGPT. The coalition comprises notable media entities including The Canadian Press, Torstar, Globe and Mail, Postmedia, and CBC/Radio-Canada.
In a joint statement released on Friday, the coalition articulated their concerns over what they describe as a consistent infringement of copyright by OpenAI, which they claim is scraping substantial volumes of content from Canadian media sources. The statement highlighted that “OpenAI is capitalizing and profiting from the use of this content, without getting permission or compensating content owners.”
The publishers underscored their financial commitment to journalism, asserting that they collectively invest hundreds of millions of dollars into the industry, asserting that their content is protected under copyright law. “News media companies welcome technological innovations. However, all participants must follow the law, and any use of intellectual property must be on fair terms,” the joint statement further asserted.
Generative AI platforms like ChatGPT are designed to produce text, images, videos, and code based on simple user prompts. To effectively function, these systems must first analyse and understand vast amounts of pre-existing data. This lawsuit marks a notable first in Canada, occurring alongside a surge of similar legal actions underway in the United States, including litigation initiated by the New York Times against OpenAI and Microsoft for analogous concerns.
Interestingly, it is worth noting that Torstar Corporation and a related entity of the Globe and Mail have investment stakes in The Canadian Press, highlighting interconnected interests within the coalition.
The outcome of this legal battle could have significant implications for the future relationship between AI technologies and content creation industries, as the discourse surrounding copyright, permission, and fair usage intensifies in the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence.
Source: Noah Wire Services