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Publishers are looking for a way to make AI companies pay for journalistic content. There are currently two options available internationally: sue or cooperate. Where is the Swiss media?
The problem: Text robots like ChatGPT constantly browse information available online, including articles created by journalists for the media. This increases the pool of material with which ChatGPT can correctly answer questions from users.
Die Player: The US company OpenAI has developed the text robot ChatGPT. With a valuation of $80 billion, the company is currently considered the most valuable start-up in the world. The largest donor to OpenAI is Microsoft. The partnership helps OpenAI obtain more capital for its development. Conversely, Microsoft integrates OpenAI technology into its products. On the other side are those companies that produce material that flows into the text robots and analysis systems – i.e. media, news agencies and also authors.
Cooperation as a solution: The German media company Axel Springer – publisher of newspapers such as “Bild”, “Die Welt” and “Business Insider” – is the first media company to enter into a cooperation with OpenAI and Microsoft. It is said to be worth tens of millions of euros annually. On the one hand, OpenAI compensates the publisher for allowing its chat robot to use the paid content of Axel Springer media in order to further develop itself. On the other hand, users of ChatGPT should receive links and sources to complete articles. This increases transparency.
Legend: Competition not only on the mobile phone screen: traditional media and media content generated with artificial intelligence. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Extorting money through a lawsuit: The American “New York Times” takes a different approach. It is the first major US newspaper to sue OpenAI and Microsoft. “The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold those responsible for the billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages they owe to The Times for its unlawful copying and use of its uniquely valuable works,” the lawsuit states. Authors also take legal action. For example, “Game of Thrones” author George RR Martin sued for intellectual property infringement. His books would be used to train AI without his consent.
This is how the Swiss media sees it: Being compensated by AI companies is also the goal of Swiss publishers. It’s about protecting and financing journalism, as Stefan Wabel from the Swiss Media Publishers Association tells Radio SRF.
Together, the media companies could achieve more.
Collaborations – like that of the German publisher Axel Springer – could pave the way. However, experts believe that publishers going it alone is unlikely to be successful. “Together, the media companies could achieve more,” says media researcher and AI expert Greg Piechota from the International News Media Association. Many publishers actually have an industry solution in mind. How this could be designed is still unclear.
The New York Times lawsuit sends a signal.
Lawsuits for copyright infringement are not a priority. Swiss media neither have enough financial resources for this nor would the lawsuit receive international attention. Nevertheless, the New York Times lawsuit is important from a Swiss perspective. “The lawsuit has a signal effect,” as Ladina Heimgartner, head of Ringier Medien Schweiz, recently stated on Radio SRF’s Rendezvous program.