The New York Times has implemented preemptive measures to prevent the utilization of its content for the training of artificial intelligence models.
In its most recent update to its terms and services, the NYT introduced a prohibition on the utilization of its content, encompassing text, photographs, images, audio/video clips, “look and feel,” metadata, or compilations, for the development of “any software program, including but not limited to training machine learning or artificial intelligence (AI) systems.”
Furthermore, the revised terms now explicitly state that automated tools, such as website crawlers designed to access, use, or gather said content, cannot be employed without obtaining written permission from the publication.
Failure to comply with these newly established restrictions may result in unspecified fines or penalties, as per the NYT’s declaration.
What it means
This action could potentially be a response to Google’s recent update in its privacy policy, which divulges that the search giant might collect publicly available data from the internet to enhance its various AI services, such as Bard or Cloud AI.
Many prominent AI services, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, rely on extensive datasets that might encompass copyrighted or safeguarded materials acquired from the internet without the original creator’s consent.
NYT enters agreement with Google
Interestingly, the New York Times had entered into a $100 million agreement with Google in February, granting the search giant permission to showcase Times content on select platforms over the upcoming three years.
The publication indicated that both companies will collaborate on tools related to content distribution, subscriptions, marketing, advertisements, and “experimentation.”
This suggests that the amendments to the NYT’s terms of service could potentially affect entities like OpenAI or Microsoft.
What other AI companies have done
OpenAI recently publicized that website operators have the ability to block its GPTBot web crawler from scraping their websites. In a similar vein, Microsoft has also introduced additional constraints in its terms and conditions, prohibiting individuals from using its AI products to “create, train, or enhance (either directly or indirectly) any other AI service.”
The company has also forbidden users from extracting or scraping data from its AI tools.
Global news organisations call for regulation on AI
Earlier in the current month, numerous news organizations, including The Associated Press and the European Publishers’ Council, joined forces to issue an open letter advocating for global legislators to enact regulations mandating transparency with regard to training datasets. The letter also calls for obtaining consent from rights holders prior to utilizing data for training purposes.
