Unsealed docs show Microsoft staff debated if OpenAI's data use was 'largest theft of labor in history'
nordicinst · x · 2026-09-18
The New York Times reports on newly unsealed court documents revealing deep internal concern at Microsoft and OpenAI over training AI on millions of news articles.
- A 2023 internal Microsoft document saw employees debating whether OpenAI's practice amounted to the "largest theft of labor in human history" and could create a "doom loop" threatening LLM quality
- ChatGPT lead Nick Turley called AI an "existential threat" to publishers in a June 2023 memo, and in February 2024 wrote AI products "will get more and more substitutive"
- OpenAI also worried ChatGPT would pull readers away from other news sources
- Both companies argue their work falls under "fair use"; the case highlights tensions in Europe's AI policy and publishing ecosystem
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