TL;DR:
- Rod Sims, former chairman of the ACCC, believes AI models like ChatGPT should pay for access to content, similar to the news bargaining code in Australia.
- AI models, such as Google’s BERT and Microsoft’s ChatGPT, are accused of scraping news publications to generate answers, raising copyright concerns.
- News Corp CEO, Robert Thomson, is a prominent advocate for AI firms to pay for access to content and is in discussions with an unnamed AI firm.
- Other publishers are seeking alternative ways to negotiate with AI companies, while senior media executives have raised concerns over Google and Microsoft harvesting news stories to build AI models.
- The Washington Post recently published a list of websites used to build a chatbot dataset, with 13% of the content coming from “news and media.”
- Similar regulations have been suggested in New Zealand and Canada, while a new bill known as the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act has been introduced in the US Congress.
- The bargaining code permits the addition of new companies to the list, and Mr. Sims believes that AI companies such as ChatGPT could be easily incorporated into this list.
- Media companies have called for other platforms to be added to the list of companies required to negotiate, and there is scope to add more companies to the list designated by the government.
Main AI News:
As the architect of Australia’s news bargaining code, which has shifted over $200 million from tech giants Google and Facebook to publishers, former chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Rod Sims, states that artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT should also be required to compensate publishers for access to content.
Mr. Sims suggests that AI models like Google’s BERT and Microsoft’s ChatGPT, which are known for providing accurate answers, have likely scraped news publications to generate their responses. This, according to Mr. Sims, raises significant copyright concerns and places these models within the scope of the bargaining code. He asserts that just as media companies were unable to negotiate with Google and Facebook, they would also be unable to bargain with AI companies.
News Corp CEO Robert Thomson, who is the most vocal advocate for AI firms to pay for access to content, has confirmed that his company is in discussions with an undisclosed AI firm. Thomson, who was an early supporter of the media bargaining code, is joined by other publishers who are seeking alternative ways to negotiate with AI companies. The Guardian has established a global AI working group, while Nine, the publisher of the Australian Financial Review, is investigating the potential applications of AI across its media business.
Concerns have been raised by senior media executives who suggest that Google and Microsoft may have obtained news stories to build their AI models through agreements used to index content for search engines. This may raise competition concerns.
The Washington Post recently published a list of 10 million websites used to build a chatbot dataset, with 13% of the content coming from “news and media.” Following Australia’s introduction of the code in 2021, similar codes have been proposed in New Zealand and Canada, and a new bill called the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act was recently introduced in the US Congress.
Mr. Sims explains that the bargaining code allows for new companies to be added to the list and designated by the federal treasurer, depending on their bargaining power in the market. He believes that, as there are only a few companies specializing in ChatGPT, they would be easy to include. Since the first iteration of the media bargaining code, media companies have called for other platforms, such as TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, to be added to the list of companies required to negotiate.
Mr. Sims notes that there is scope to add more companies to the list of those that can be designated by the government and that this is a judgment for the ACCC to make.
Conlcusion:
The push for AI models like ChatGPT to pay for access to content highlights the growing concern over the use of news content in the AI industry. The former chairman of the ACCC, Rod Sims, believes that AI models should be subject to the same compensation requirements as tech giants like Google and Facebook. This sentiment is echoed by News Corp CEO Robert Thomson, who is in discussions with an unnamed AI firm.
As media companies continue to explore ways to negotiate with AI companies and raise concerns over the use of news content, it is likely that the industry will continue to see changes in the way AI models access and use news content. This could have significant implications for the market and lead to new regulations and compensation agreements for the AI industry.
