The AI theft

ArsTechnica revelas Microsoft exec called AI scraping the “largest theft of labor in human history” :

For years, Microsoft and OpenAI have fought to keep certain information out of the public eye in their fight with news organizations that have accused the AI firms of teaming up to violate copyright laws by stealing tons of news content to train AI.

Turns out lawsuits have that helpful process called discovery where documents are entered in the public record. And if you wonder why bug corporation will settle rather than go to trial, take into account that discovery might be more damaging thant the risk of being found guiltay of the wrong doing (that they never admit).

Microsoft Director of Applied Science Brent Hecht repeatedly warned in documents that scraping news for AI training was “an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions,” calling it perhaps the “largest theft of labor in human history,”

The lawsuit in question is about news organisations (corporations) and the copyright infringement from training LLM on their material. The “AI” companies are arguing publicly that it is fair use, while internally they know it’s not, which these documents prove.

Usually, calling copyright infringement “theft” is incorrect, because it’s not stealing. However. in that case, the purpose is to take away labour from people, so there definitely is theft, just not of the material.

Mother Jones, who is a party in the matter also have things to say: AI Exec: We May Have Pulled Off “The Largest Theft of Labor in Human History”.