Summary: Several prominent news organizations are calling on the U.S. government to take action against what they describe as AI theft. Their concern is that companies should not be allowed to train their artificial intelligence models using copyrighted data. To raise awareness, they are launching advertising campaigns in print and online.

The ongoing clash between traditional media outlets and AI companies continues unabated. Major publications, including The New York Times, have been embroiled in disputes with firms like OpenAI and Microsoft for over a year. Recently, this conflict escalated, with various news organizations joining forces to urge stricter regulations on AI data practices.

Publications such as The Washington Post, The Guardian, Vox Media (which owns The Verge), and The New York Times have initiated a movement titled “Stop AI Theft.” They are advocating for the government to limit the types of data that AI companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta can utilize to develop their models. The New York Times has previously expressed its concerns about AI by launching an ad campaign under the banner “Support Responsible AI,” coordinated by the News/Media Alliance.

This campaign features attention-grabbing red and white graphics and messaging intended to inform the public about the issue. The motivation behind this campaign is to protect copyrighted materials from being used without permission for AI training, an essential aspect of The New York Times’ lawsuit against OpenAI. However, this issue extends beyond major corporations.

While large enterprises can afford to defend their intellectual property in court, smaller creators, such as independent filmmakers and musicians, often lack the resources to protect their work from exploitation. Though the campaign seems to champion the cause of content owners, there are concerns that these publications may be more focused on safeguarding their own interests rather than advocating for all creators. The question remains whether they genuinely care about the broader implications for the news media or if they are primarily defending their own proprietary content.