New York Times licenses content to Amazon's AI models
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
The New York Times (NASDAQ: NYT) has signed a deal with Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) to license its editorial content to the tech giant's artificial intelligence (AI) models.
The deal is the first of its kind for America's most popular newspaper, which has lagged behind its rivals, which have all signed similar deals. It also comes nearly 18 months since The NY Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) for allegedly illegally using its articles to train GPT models.
In its statement, the paper revealed that Amazon will use its articles and content from its other outlets, including NYT Cooking and The Athletic, its sports publication. However, it didn't disclose the financial terms of the deal.
In a note to staff, The New York Times CEO, Meredith Kopit Levien, stated that the agreement aligns with the paper's principle that 'quality journalism is worth paying for,' in a thinly-veiled jab at OpenAI, which it accused of using its content without compensation.
'It aligns with our deliberate approach to ensuring that our work is valued appropriately, whether through commercial deals or through the enforcement of our intellectual property rights,' she added.
Beyond training its AI models, Amazon will use the content to provide a real-time display of summaries and excerpts of The New York Times articles within its services, such as Alexa.
AI giants scramble for data
While the Amazon deal is the first for The New York Times, its rivals have been inking agreements with AI giants to license their content to train the rapidly improving models.
A month before The New York Times sued OpenAI, the Sam Altman-led firm had signed an agreement with Axel Springer to use its articles to train its GPT AI models. Axel Springer owns Business Insider, Politico, Bild, and dozens of other top publications.
Since then, OpenAI has signed similar agreements with the Financial Times, Vogue, and New Yorker owner Condé Nast, Elle and Cosmopolitan's parent company, Hearst Media, Spain's Prisa Media, and France's Le Monde. The AI developer pledged
to link back to the original articles in all the deals and, with some outlets like the Financial Times, committed to
developing new AI tools for its readers.
Meta (NASDAQ: META) also signed a similar deal with Reuters in 2024. Despite being the largest news outlet in the United States, The New York Times had steered clear of an AI content deal even as its lawsuit against OpenAI continues. The lawsuit cost the publisher $4.4 million in Q1 alone.
The New York Times is the first major news outlet to sign a content deal with Amazon, which has continued to fall behind its tech rivals in the AI battle, with Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Meta, and Microsoft all making massive strides over the past two years. Curiously, the Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, licensed its content to rival OpenAI just over a month ago.
This flurry of media deals is unfolding amid an intensifying clash between content creators and AI developers over the use of copyrighted content to train the models.
Creators, from publications like The NYT to authors like Sarah Silverman, argue that they must be compensated by AI firms that use their content to train the models. AI firms, in their defense, have argued that the training falls under the 'fair use' protection and that their models generate general responses, not regurgitated content.
AI could threaten our sovereignty: Zimbabwe's president
Elsewhere, the Zimbabwean president has warned against the dangers of AI as he unveiled the country's National Media Policy.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa acknowledged that AI is revolutionizing all aspects of the social and economic sectors. In media, it's reshaping how information is gathered, analyzed, and disseminated.
However, it also presents novel risks, especially to developing nations.
'The extensive and multi-pronged implications of these developments… have the danger of challenging our respective national sovereignty and democracy,' he stated.
Globally, stakeholders in media and beyond have warned against the danger of AI, especially in generating and spreading fake news. With image and video generators rapidly improving, detecting fake misinformation is more challenging than ever. The challenge is exacerbated in the global south, where governments lack the proper tools to crack down on perpetrators.
In order for artificial intelligence (AI) to work right within the law and thrive in the face of growing challenges, it needs to integrate an enterprise blockchain system that ensures data input quality and ownership—allowing it to keep data safe while also guaranteeing the immutability of data. Check out CoinGeek's coverage on this emerging tech to learn more why Enterprise blockchain will be the backbone of AI .
Watch: AI is for 'augmenting' not replacing the workforce
title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen>
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Morning Bid: So, it's a framework for a deal, maybe?
June 11 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole. So, apparently, they have the concept of a plan for a proposal on a framework for a deal to break the latest U.S.-China trade impasse. Which was only needed because President Trump sent that tweet claiming Beijing had broken the old deal. This deal now needs to be approved by Trump and Chairman Xi, and then implemented. At least the Chinese side thought the talks were "rational", which was a step forward. Details were scant, though the U.S. team did claim that it would resolve China's export restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets. What Beijing got in return was not yet clear. Neither was it clear whether this truce would last any longer than the last one, which might be why the early market response was less than enthusiastic. U.S. and European stock futures were all down between 0.2% and 0.6%, and Asian shares modestly firmer. There is still the small matter of whether the April 2 levies are actually legal, with a federal appeals court allowing the tariffs to remain in effect while it reviews a lower court decision blocking them. The dollar and Treasuries were little changed as the U.S. CPI looms later in the day and any upside surprise would fan stagflationary fears, to the detriment of both markets. Analysts assume lower energy prices will keep the headline rise to 0.2%, while the core is seen up 0.3%. Attention will be on whether tariffs show up in goods prices, though the full impact is likely to appear from June onwards. Measures of volatility suggest investors really aren't prepared for a high number, so anything in line will be a relief. Treasuries also have a 10-year auction to weather, with the focus on the share taken by indirect bidders which include foreign central banks. The latter took a hefty 71% of the May sale, while primary dealers got just 8.9%. A repeat performance would be warmly welcomed. Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Cryptocurrency firm Bullish confidentially files for US IPO, FT reports
June 10 (Reuters) - Peter Thiel-backed crypto exchange Bullish has confidentially filed for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in recent weeks, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. A unit of blockchain software company Bullish had attempted to go public through a special purpose acquisition company deal in 2021 but that fell through in 2022 amid a regulatory crackdown and a sudden rise in interest rates that rattled the equities market. The Trump administration, in contrast to predecessor Joe Biden's, has taken a softer stance on crypto regulation and backed the industry's policy priorities, with the SEC dropping several investigations. Bullish is seeking to capitalise on renewed investor interest in digital assets under the current administration, the FT said. Bullish did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the FT report. The company's reported filing follows that of Gemini's, a crypto exchange run by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, which last week disclosed it had confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Tariffs seen lifting underlying US consumer prices in May
WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. consumer prices likely increased moderately in May amid relatively cheaper gasoline, but the Trump administration's import tariffs probably started filtering through to other goods and potentially raising underlying inflation pressures. The Consumer Price Index report from the Labor Department on Wednesday could show the CPI less the volatile food and energy components rising by the most in four months. Economists said the increase in the so-called core CPI would be attributable to higher prices from President Donald Trump's sweeping import duties. May would mark the start of tariff-related high inflation readings that could last through year end, they said. Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab last month said it would begin raising prices in late May and June. Economists said inflation has been slow to respond to tariffs as most retailers were selling merchandise accumulated before the duties took effect. "Retailers showed remarkable restraint in April," said Stephen Stanley, chief U.S. economist at Santander U.S. Capital Markets. "May should bring the leading edge of price increases, with the maximum impact coming in June and July." The CPI likely increased 0.2% last month after advancing by the same margin in April, a Reuters survey of economists showed. Gasoline prices were mostly lower in May as concerns over global economic growth curbed crude oil prices. In the 12-months through May, the CPI was forecast increasing 2.5% after rising 2.3% in April. Some of the rise in the year-on-year CPI would reflect last year's low readings dropping out of the calculation. Core CPI is forecast to have climbed 0.3%, which would be the biggest gain since January, after rising 0.2% in April. In the 12 months through May, core CPI inflation is estimated to have increased 2.9% after rising 2.8% in April. The Federal Reserve tracks different inflation measures for its 2% target. The U.S. central bank is expected to leave its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range next Wednesday while policymakers monitor the economic impact of the tariffs. The CPI data will come under close scrutiny in the months ahead after the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Labor Department's agency that compiles the report and other economic releases including the closely watched employment report, announced last week the suspension of CPI data collection in three cities because of resource constraints. The BLS like all government agencies has been severely affected by mass firings, voluntary resignations, early retirements and hiring freezes, which are part of an unprecedented campaign by the White House to drastically reduce the size of government and remake it. The BLS has also announced that it would, effective with the release of the July Producer Price Index data in August, end the calculation and publication of about 350 indexes. That would include data from PPI industry, commodity, final demand-intermediate demand and special index classifications. Economists said that the BLS had with the CPI data reported a rise in the share of categories for which prices were calculated using a method called different cell imputation, which some viewed as less accurate. The BLS said on Tuesday its published data met rigorous standards, but did not address staffing issues. "Data quality is evaluated through measures of variance, bias studies, and assessments of survey methods," the agency said in a statement to Reuters. "BLS continues to evaluate data quality." A former BLS commissioner told Reuters that staff levels were considerably low at the agency. "I understand that BLS staffing is down by at least 15% now, that's not reflected in any official numbers yet, because many of them are still being paid," said Erica Groshen. "They are not at work and it is impinging on the agencies. Also the hiring freeze means that they can't be replaced." Groshen said the CPI report remained reliable, noting an increased shift towards electronic collection of data. "At a national level, the standard errors aren't really affected very much, and the reliability is still good, but it's really disaggregated at the granular level, where you're starting to see some real losses," she said. "It's just not aiding publication standards, and so they're not putting it out, but they can still use it as input to the national numbers." Other economists agreed, noting that the collection suspension only affected a small area. "I don't see that as being a deal breaker," said Brian Bethune, an economics professor at Boston College. "The problem would be, if they start to have to suppress more of them or drop them out of the survey, then that could be more problematic."
