--- title: "Microsoft Mocks NYT’s AI Lawsuit As “Doomsday Futurology”" description: "There's a fiery back-and-forth going on between the New York Times, OpenAI, and Microsoft over journalism being used as AI training data." date: "2024-03-06" modified: "2024-03-06" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/microsoft-mocks-new-york-times-openai-lawsuit" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "microsoft" - "new york times" - "OpenAI" - "the digest" --- # Microsoft Mocks NYT’s AI Lawsuit As “Doomsday Futurology” ![There's a fiery back-and-forth going on between the New York Times, OpenAI, and Microsoft over journalism being used as AI training data.]() *\Image: Silas Stein / Picture Alliance via Getty / Futurism\* ## Retort There's a fiery back-and-forth going on between the *New York Times*, OpenAI, and Microsoft over journalism being used as AI training data — and now it's devolved into name-calling. At the end of December, the [*NYT* filed a lawsuit]() against Microsoft and its partner, OpenAI, alleging that the firm's use of "millions of *The Times*’s copyrighted news articles... without permission or payment" to train its large language models (LLMs) constituted copyright infringement and harmed its business now that it's forced to "compete" with chatbots for authority. OpenAI responded on its company blog and said the *NYT*'s suit is "[without merit]()," and accused the newspaper of "not telling the full story" because, prior to the filing of the lawsuit, they had been in partnership negotiations. Now, about a week after OpenAI formally sought to [dismiss parts of the paper's lawsuit](), Microsoft has come in guns a-blazing in its [own filing](), accusing the *NYT* of pushing "doomsday futurology" in its claims of copyright infringement. "Despite *The Times*’s contentions, copyright law is no more an obstacle to the LLM than it was to the VCR (or the player piano, copy machine, personal computer, internet, or search engine)," Microsoft's suit reads. "Content used to train LLMs does not supplant the market for the works, it teaches the models language. It is the essence of what copyright law considers transformative — and fair— use." ## Fair Game Although this isn't the first time the "[fair use]()" doctrine, which is a complicated branch of media law dealing with what copyrighted works an individual or entity can and cannot use, has been [brought into play]() in AI lawsuits, this citation certainly is one of the heaviest-hitting examples of it being used to [argue in favor of AI]() to date. In its motion to dismiss the *NYT*'s lawsuit, Microsoft went on to claim that the newspaper's assertion that OpenAI is a threat not just to its business model but also to journalism and society at large is not "how real-world people actually use" its products, and that it "coaxed" ChatGPT to spit out copyright-infringing responses that would otherwise not occur — a flimsy argument, but one that's been [used by Microsoft before]() to dismiss criticism of its AI. "Once the claims challenged here are dismissed," the suit's prologue reads, "Microsoft looks forward to litigating the issues in this case that are genuinely presented, and to vindicating the important values of progress, learning, and the sharing of knowledge." Beyond the legalese, Microsoft's counter-suit hinges on one huge existential point: whether AI using copyrighted material is right or fair, and, more importantly, whether courts will think that matters in the face of the massive [speculative]() and [actual financial benefits]() the tech will accrue for those lucky enough to not have their jobs automated. **More on AI law:** [*Elon Musk Sues OpenAI for Doing For-Profit AI, Which He's Also Doing*]() ## 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]()