😺 NYT vs. OpenAI

PLUS: We're so back.

Welcome, humans.

Happy New Year! We’ve really missed you, and are so pumped to be back in your inbox, arming you with everything you need to get more done with AI.

Our New Year resolutions? Amp up our content 5x, teach a Roomba to handle our laundry, and invent a new language to chat with cats. hissing = back TF off!

Here’s what you need to know about AI today:

The NYT is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for infringing on its content.
OpenAI's annualized revenue is soaring, crossing $1.6 billion.
Google will require election advertisers to disclose AI usage.
Copilot (previously known as Bing) is now on iOS and Android.

NYT sues OpenAI/Microsoft for copyright infringement.

In a first, The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for using its content to train AI models like ChatGPT.

It’s Metallica vs. Napster 2.0.

First, The NYT alleges that ChatGPT and Bing generated parts of NYT articles word-for-word without proper citation, aka what kids know as an immediate trip to the principal’s office.

This is a big no-no, which is why OpenAI put a two-month hold on ChatGPT’s web browsing and is trying to eliminate any copyrighted output shared online.

But here's the bigger claim: The NYT argues that OpenAI illegally harnessed its "uniquely valuable" content to develop ChatGPT. They're demanding:

Accountability from OpenAI/Microsoft for "billions" in damages.
The termination of any chatbot trained on copyrighted material (i.e. kill OpenAI but for real this time).

So who’s right on point #2, legally speaking? IDK and neither does the actual law (yet).

On the one hand, training ChatGPT involved making derivative copies of its (specifically creative) content, which is protected by copyright.
Yet, AI models essentially create entirely new content from patterns in data, much like a director who is inspired by films they’ve watched.

Why it matters: The final say is up to the courts.

The decision will set a significant precedent for future interactions between publishers and AI developers. Some publishers, like Gannett and WSJ, are seeking to partner with OpenAI, while others, like CNN and Reuters, are blocking OpenAI from accessing their articles entirely.

As for you? Companies like Microsoft, Anthropic, and Adobe have promised to pay the legal bills for any users facing copyright lawsuits.

Hakuna Matata!

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Around the Horn (mega edition).

Here’s your TLDR for the most important stories that rounded out 2023:

Industry:

Google will require election advertisers to disclose when ads include AI content.
Apple is exploring licensing content from publishers to train its AI models.
OpenAI is generating >$1.6B in annualized revenue and plans to raise new funds at a whooping $100B valuation.
Anthropic is eyeing another $750M raise and projects >$850M in annualized revenue by EOY 2024.
OpenAI suspended TikTok-owner ByteDance after it used ChatGPT data to train its own AI rival.
⅔ of the $27B AI startups raised in 2023 came from Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.

Tools:

Microsoft Copilot, previously called “Bing”, is available on iOS here and Android here.
Midjourney is alpha-testing v6 of its AI image generator.
Stability AI introduced a $20/month tier for commercial access to its AI models.
Baidu’s ChatGPT competitor, “Ernie Bot,” has over 100M users.
GitHub’s programming assistant, “Copilot Chat,” is now open to all users.
Apple released research called “LLM in a Flash” on running LLMs on smartphones.

People:

Bill Gates’s annual letter discussed how AI can supercharge innovation in healthcare and education.
Tang Tan, Apple’s VP of iPhone, is joining forces with Sam Altman and Jony Ive to build an AI hardware device.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts discussed AI’s role in law in his Year-End Report.
Mistral’s CEO announced plans to release a GPT-4-level open-source model in 2024.