OpenAI is partnering with Hearst, one of the nation's largest owners of newspaper and magazine content.
The collaboration, announced Tuesday, spans more than 20 magazine brands and 40 newspapers, making it one of the company's largest media partnerships. Included in the agreement will be the contents of Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, ELLEThe runner's world AND Women's health.
OpenAI has been sued by several publishers and other copyright holders in lawsuits accusing it of stealing their work without compensation and consent to train its technology. Content agreements have been reached with other media companies, who face the possibility of having the company use their archives regardless of whether agreements are reached. In the month of January, The New York Times sued over allegations that his articles were used in ChatGPT responses.
In a statement, Hearst Magazines president Debi Chirichella said the partnership “will help us evolve the future of magazine content.” He added: “This collaboration ensures that our high-quality writing and expertise, cultural and historical context, attribution and credibility are promoted as OpenAI products evolve.”
Under the agreement, Hearst content used to answer questions in ChatGPT “will feature appropriate citations and direct links.” OpenAI said this will provide “transparency and easy access to original sources.” It was achieved after the AI company closed a $6.6 billion funding round valuing it at $157 billion. Additional terms were not disclosed.
“Including Hearst's trusted content in our products increases our ability to deliver engaging, trustworthy information to our users,” said Brad Lightcap, chief operating officer of OpenAI.
Media organizations that have reached a similar agreement with OpenAI include Axel Springer, owner of Politico and Business Insider, News Corp., Associated Press, The Financial timesVoxmedia e The Atlantic.
“As generative AI matures, it is critical that journalism created by professional journalists is at the heart of all AI products,” said Jeff Johnson, president of Hearst Newspapers. “This agreement allows trusted, curated content created by Hearst Newspapers' award-winning journalists to be part of OpenAI products like ChatGPT, creating more timely and relevant results.”
At the forefront of the copyright dispute between OpenAI and publishers are The New York Times and a coalition of eight newspapers – The New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun Sentinel, San Jose Mercury News, Denver Post, Orange County Register AND St. Paul Pioneer Press – owned by Alden Global Capital. The company claims that using content on the Internet to power its artificial intelligence system constitutes fair use, which permits the use of copyrighted works in certain circumstances.