# Microsoft exec calls AI the largest theft of labor, lawsuit documents reveal

Digest AI · Policy & Regulation · published 2026-09-22T11:00:00Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/microsoft-exec-calls-ai-the-largest-theft-of-labor-lawsuit-documents-r

## Summary

Mother Jones cites internal Microsoft and OpenAI documents uncovered in a lawsuit that allege AI companies have built their products by scraping and repurposing creators’ work without consent.  Microsoft’s director of applied science Brent Hecht described the practice as an “astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions” and warned that AI could create a “doom loop” threatening the economic foundations of content suppliers.  OpenAI’s policy director Jack Clark said the systems “substitute for the labor of the people that define the culture of society.”

The filing notes that AI search reduced clicks to news articles by 90 percent and that referral traffic from Google Search and Discover fell by at least 30 percent after AI overviews were introduced.  OpenAI examined 20 million ChatGPT responses, finding more than 400,000 identical 25‑word overlaps with Mother Jones pieces—similar numbers for The New York Times.  Executives discussed ways to bypass paywalls, and OpenAI later added a filter that blocks output from sued publishers, a move the brief says was meant to limit evidence gathering rather than protect copyrights.

## Key points

- Microsoft exec warned AI could "hoover up" creators’ work, calling it an "astonishing theft"
- OpenAI found over 400,000 25‑word overlaps between ChatGPT outputs and Mother Jones articles
- AI search cut clicks to news by 90% and referral traffic from Google fell at least 30%

## Why it matters

The revelations highlight legal and economic risks of training AI on copyrighted content, threatening news revenue and prompting calls for stronger regulation.

## Sources

1. [AI exec: We may have pulled off “the largest theft of labor in human history.”](https://motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/openai-chatgpt-microsoft-copyright-legal-case-documents-revelations) (motherjones.com, 2026-09-22)

Part of the developing story: [Media Giants Sue AI Over Labor Theft](https://digestai.news/thread/microsoft-exec-called-ai-scraping-largest-theft-of-labor-in-human-history) (5 stories)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Microsoft exec calls AI the largest theft of labor, lawsuit documents reveal", 22 September 2026, https://digestai.news/story/microsoft-exec-calls-ai-the-largest-theft-of-labor-lawsuit-documents-r

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