Court Files Show OpenAI and Microsoft Feared AI’s Toll on Publishers

Recently unsealed court records in the New York Times’ copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft show that the companies’ own executives anticipated serious harm from AI training. Internal materials reportedly warned of a “doom loop” that would damage the web, and described mass scraping of published work in stark terms.

A Microsoft director allegedly called the scraping “the largest theft of labor in human history,” and an OpenAI head reportedly described ChatGPT as an “existential threat” to publishers. Another internal line said millions would see large language models “hoovering up” their work as “an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions.” The sources agree on these quotes, though they differ slightly on the speaker’s exact title.

The New York Times is now seeking summary judgment in the case, nearly three years after filing. The filings add to pressure on AI companies over copyright and the sustainability of news publishing.