OpenAI, Microsoft executive quotes threaten copyright defense, news outlets argue
Previously redacted court filings made public on Thursday reveal that OpenAI and Microsoft executives privately described their AI systems as substitutes for journalism. The New York Times and other news outlets argue these quotes gut the tech companies' fair-use defense in their ongoing Manhattan federal copyright lawsuit. The publishers claim the evidence shows the companies knew their actions…
Key points
- Unsealed court filings show OpenAI and Microsoft executives privately called AI products substitutes for journalism.
- Nick Turley reportedly stated that ChatGPT poses an "existential threat" and is "largely substitutive" to publishers.
- Microsoft defended Satya Nadella's testimony as consistent with its legal position, describing it as broad observations.
Among the unsealed quotes, OpenAI's head of ChatGPT, Nick Turley, reportedly stated that publishers face an "existential threat" from products that are "largely substitutive." Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella agreed under oath that chatbot conversations substitute for visiting underlying source websites. Additionally, Microsoft's director of applied science, Brent Hecht, reportedly said millions of people would consider AI training to be "an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions."
Microsoft responded that Nadella's comments spoke to broad information-consumption trends rather than legal copyright conclusions, and dismissed Hecht's quote as an individual perspective. OpenAI spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The story so far
3 episodes →- OpenAI, Microsoft executive quotes threaten copyright defense, news outlets arguethis story
OpenAI, Microsoft executives' quotes on AI training threaten copyright defense, news outlets argue
aol.com · 17 September 2026
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Coverage and discussion
2sources- OpenAI and Microsoft knew AI posed existential threat to publishersPress · yahoo.com ·
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