From Futurism · Joe Wilkins · · 1m 30s
Microsoft exec called AI the biggest labor theft ever
Unsealed court documents reveal top AI leaders admitting their industry was built on massive intellectual property theft.
In brief
Unsealed court documents reveal top AI leaders admitting their industry was built on massive intellectual property theft. Microsoft and OpenAI executives privately acknowledged that training AI on copyrighted content without permission constitutes unprecedented theft, undermining their fair use defense in the New York…
Sealed documents reveal damning admissions
Unsealed court motions in the New York Times lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft contain quotes from top AI executives admitting to massive intellectual property theft.
Microsoft director's stunning quote
Brent Hecht, Microsoft's director of applied science, called the AI buildout the 'largest theft of labor in human history,' according to the unsealed motion.
“largest theft of labor in human history”
OpenAI cofounder warns of substitution
Greg Brockman, OpenAI's cofounder and president, admitted that generative AI products are 'largely substitutive' and will become more so as they improve, threatening publishers' existence.
“are largely substitutive, period”
Admissions destroy fair use defense
The executives' own words undermine their fair use argument. Hecht acknowledged that prevailing on fair use 'would make a complete mockery' of the concept.
“make a complete mockery of the idea of 'fair use'”
The New York Times case explained
The lawsuit began in 2023 when the Times accused OpenAI and Microsoft of copying millions of its copyrighted articles without permission to train competing AI products.
Trial decision expected by 2027
The presiding judge is expected to decide whether the case can proceed to trial sometime in 2027, meaning this legal battle is far from over.
The short version
Microsoft and OpenAI executives privately acknowledged that training AI on copyrighted content without permission constitutes unprecedented theft, undermining their fair use defense in the New York Times lawsuit.
