The deal includes the offering of summaries, pricing, and article links from Financial Times material to ChatGPT users
The Financial Times and OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, have an agreement that allows the Financial Times’ material to be used for AI system training. The FT will get an undisclosed amount as part of this agreement. The most recent agreement between OpenAI and news producers is this one. In response to prompts, ChatGPT users will now get summaries, quotes, and links to articles from FT journalism. The chief executive of the FT Group, John Ridding, said that AI businesses should pay publishers for their material.
The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft, a significant investor, for using its material to train massive language models. These models are the foundation of ChatGPT and other chatbots.
Ridding stated, “OpenAI recognizes the significance of transparency, attribution, and compensation—essential elements for us. Simultaneously, it’s evident that these products must include reliable sources to benefit users.”
OpenAI has already finalized content licensing agreements with the US news agency the Associated Press, the French publication Le Monde, the El País owner Prisa Media, and Germany’s Axel Springer, which publishes the Bild tabloid.
Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s chief operating officer, emphasized the company’s commitment to “upholding quality journalism as these products develop.”
He added, “As with any transformative technology, there are both significant advancements and major challenges. However, what’s never feasible is turning back time.”
Chatbots such as ChatGPT are the epitome of generative artificial intelligence (AI), which is the ability to generate realistic text, graphics, or audio from simple, human-inputted cues.
However, these tools are based on models built on large internet-sourced datasets, which may contain images and information that is protected by copyright.
Writers that have sued OpenAI in the US claiming copyright infringement include Jodi Picoult, John Grisham, and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin.
For similar reasons, Getty Images, which is well known for having one of the biggest photo collections in the world, is suing the people who made the image generator Stable Diffusion in the UK.
The FT’s editor, Roula Khalaf, stated in an open letter last year that a team in the newsroom will conduct responsible experiments with AI tools and teach reporters how to use generative AI for story discovery. She did, however, underline the publication’s dedication to openness on the technology’s application and reaffirmed that its journalism will continue to be produced by human writers.
Senior research analyst Niamh Burns of Enders Analysis proposed that OpenAI would find the FT’s superior material intriguing and that this would improve the chatbot’s responses.
“The FT’s content will be highly beneficial to OpenAI for enhancing a chatbot capable of providing precise, high-quality responses to user queries requiring current information,” she said. “The strength of the FT’s product and brand also ensures that it is one of the least susceptible to any risk of substitution that may arise as AI products become more popular among users.”