12/21/2023

Journalists Had 'No Idea' About OpenAI's Deal to Use Their Stories

WIRED spoke with employees at Business Insider, which just struck a significant deal with OpenAI

Last week, OpenAI and the German media conglomerate Axel Springer signed a multi-year licensing agreement. It allows OpenAI to incorporate articles from Axel Springer–owned outlets like Business Insider and POLITICO into its products, including ChatGPT. Although the deal centers on using journalistic work, reporters whose stories will be shared as part of the agreement were not consulted about the deal beforehand.

Four Business Insider employees told WIRED that they found out about the AI deal at the same time it was announced publicly. PEN Guild, the US union which represents around 280 workers at POLITICO and E&E News, another Axel Springer publication, says it was "not consulted or informed about the decision to have robots summarize our work."

At a Business Insider all-hands meeting on Dec. 13, the day the news broke, the deal was "a very quick line item," according to a Business Insider staffer in attendance who spoke to WIRED on condition of anonymity. "How it works, when it's starting, I have no idea."

Please select this link to read the complete article from WIRED.