--- title: "OpenAI “Accidentally” Deleted Evidence From Its New York Times Lawsuit" description: "OpenAI made a major oopsie when its engineers accidentally deleted a bunch of evidence sought by the New York Times in its lawsuit." date: "2024-11-22" modified: "2024-11-22" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/openai-nyt-lawsuit-evidence-deleted" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" --- # OpenAI “Accidentally” Deleted Evidence From Its New York Times Lawsuit ![OpenAI made a major oopsie when its engineers accidentally deleted a bunch of evidence sought by the New York Times in its lawsuit.]() *CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 01: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, poses during his visit to The Cambridge Union to receive the Professor Hawking Fellowship on behalf of OpenAI on November 01, 2023 in Cambridge, England. (Photo by Nordin Catic/Getty Images For The Cambridge Union) \Image: Nordin Catic/Getty Images For The Cambridge Union\* ## File Error OpenAI made a major oopsie when its engineers accidentally deleted a bunch of evidence sought by the *New York Times* in its copyright lawsuit against the AI firm and [its benefactor Microsoft](). In a [letter to the judge presiding]() over the suit, lawyers for the *NYT* and the *New York Daily News* said that a ton of evidentiary files went missing while the attorneys were perusing them. Earlier this month, the firm provided the publishers' attorneys with two massive caches of training data files from the newspapers, in keeping with its defense that because they were publicly published, it was [fair to use those articles]() to train AI models. Since the beginning of November, the newspapers' attorneys had spent more than 150 hours sifting through those caches — until, in the middle of the month, OpenAI engineers erased all of the search data in one of the caches. ## Partial Recovery While the company managed to recover most of the data itself, the folder structure and file names were "irretrievably" lost, meaning that the newspapers' attorneys can't use them "to determine where the news plaintiffs’ copied articles were used to build \[OpenAI’s\] models." As a result, the lawyers for the *NYT* and the *NYDN* had to completely retrace their steps, losing a week of work in the process. Now, the attorneys are asking the judge to make OpenAI do the legwork caused by the apparent error because, as they put it, "OpenAI is in the best position to search its own datasets." While the attorneys noted that they have "no reason to believe" the erasure was intentional, that deletion has nevertheless set them back as they build their case against the firm. "The \[newspapers\] have also provided the information that OpenAI needs to run those searches," the letter reads. "All that is needed is for OpenAI to commit to doing so in a timely manner." Despite that seemingly reasonable request, it seems that OpenAI may be planning a rebuttal. "We disagree with the characterizations made," [an OpenAI spokesperson told *Wired*](), "and will file our response soon." **More on OpenAI legal moves:** [*OpenAI Implores Judge Not to Expose Communications by Its Top Researchers*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()