Unsealed filings: Microsoft exec called AI scraping 'largest theft of labor in human history'

RebeccaBellan · x · 2026-09-18

New unredacted filings in the NYT's copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft reveal a top Microsoft executive privately described AI training practices as 'theft' and 'the largest theft of labor in human history,' while OpenAI leadership called its models an 'existential threat' to publishers. The filings also allege the companies bypassed paywalls undetected, built datasets via mass scraping, and deliberately stripped copyright notices. Most new details come from the Times' own brief, not the still-sealed exhibits.

Related event: Unsealed Filings Reveal Microsoft Exec Called AI Training "Massive Theft"(4 posts)→

Original post →

More from Companies & People

Companies & People channel →