Microsoft exec calls AI scraping the largest theft of labor, internal filings show
Unsealed filings in the New York Times copyright lawsuit reveal internal Microsoft and OpenAI documents in which Director of Applied Science Brent Hecht described AI scraping as “the largest theft of labor in human history” and warned that the practice creates a “doom loop” for the web. OpenAI staff, including Head of ChatGPT Nick Turley, called the chatbot an “existential threat” to publishers,…
Key points
- Unsealed court filings reveal Microsoft director Brent Hecht labeled AI scraping “the largest theft of labor in human history” and warned of a “doom loop.”
- OpenAI’s Head of ChatGPT Nick Turley called the chatbot an “existential threat” to publishers, saying it substitutes for creators’ labor.
- Internal data shows Microsoft Copilot cut New York Times click‑through rates by up to 93% compared with Bing search.
The Verge points out that Microsoft says the comments reflect a single employee’s view and do not represent the company’s official stance, while 404media highlights the “doom loop” language as an admission of predatory technology. TechCrunch adds specific dataset figures, citing 91,692 copies of NYT works and more than 2 million documents from nytimes.com used in training. Tom’s Hardware repeats the internal memo details and the 93% click‑through drop but does not add new facts.
The story so far
6 episodes →- Microsoft exec calls AI scraping the largest theft of labor, internal filings showthis story
Microsoft exec called AI scraping ‘the largest theft of labor in human history,’ new unredacted filings reveal
TechCrunch AI · 17 September 2026
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Coverage and discussion
7sources- Hacker News discussion · 676 pointsnews.ycombinator.com
- Hacker News discussion · 156 pointsnews.ycombinator.com
- Hacker News discussion · 27 pointsnews.ycombinator.com
- Hacker News discussion · 7 pointsnews.ycombinator.com
- OpenAI and Microsoft knew they were starting a ‘doom loop’ for the webPress · The Verge AI ·
- Microsoft director called AI scraping ‘the largest theft of labor in human history,’ while OpenAI head brands ChatGPT an ‘existential threat’ to publishers — revelations come from legal briefs filed in NYT lawsuitPress · Tom's Hardware ·
- Microsoft exec said AI scraping was ‘the largest theft of labor in human history,’ lawsuit filings revealPress · yahoo.com ·
- Microsoft exec says AI training might be the "largest labor theft in human history"Press · techspot.com ·
- ‘Doom Loop’: OpenAI and Microsoft Admits LLMs Are Destroying the Web and Built on TheftPress · 404media.co ·
- New docs in AI copyright suit reveal startling admission by Microsoft exec over ‘astonishing theft’Press · dailynews.com ·
The headline, key points and digest above were generated by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources. Automated summaries can contain errors: the sources are the record. Spotted a mistake? Tell us. Published by Martin K., who runs Digest AI and handles corrections.
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