OpenAI, Microsoft executives’ quotes on AI training threaten copyright defense, news outlets argue

OpenAI and Microsoft executives privately described their AI products as substitutes for journalism, according to court filings made public on Thursday that the New York Times and other news outlets say gut the tech companies’ fair-use defense in a closely watched copyright case.

OpenAI and its largest financial backer, Microsoft, have argued in the Manhattan federal court case that their AI training on millions of newspaper articles is protected as fair use because it transforms copyrighted material into new content and does not compete with or replace the news organizations’ journalism.