🧵 The historic NYT v. @OpenAI lawsuit filed this morning, as broken down by me, an IP and AI lawyer, general counsel, and longtime tech person and enthusiast. Tl;dr - It's the best case yet alleging that generative AI is copyright infringement. Thread. 👇

1/ First, the complaint clearly lays out the claim of copyright infringement, highlighting the 'access & substantial similarity' between NYT's articles and ChatGPT's outputs. Key fact: NYT is the single biggest proprietary data set in Common Crawl used to train GPT.

2/ The visual evidence of copying in the complaint is stark. Copied text in red, new GPT words in black—a contrast designed to sway a jury. See Exhibit J here. My take? OpenAI can't really defend this practice without some heavy changes to the instructions and a whole lot of…

3/ 🦸 NYT is a great plaintiff. It isn't just about articles; it's about originality and the creative process. Their investigative journalism, like an in-depth taxi lending exposé cited in the complaint, goes beyond mere labor—it’s creativity at its core. But here's a twist:…

5/ 😈 The complaint paints @OpenAI as profit-driven and closed. It contrasts this with the public good of journalism. This narrative could prove powerful in court, weighing the societal value of copyright against tech innovation. Notably, this balance of good v evil has been at…

6/ 🚫 Misinformation allegations add a clever twist. The complaint pulls in something people are scared of - hallucinations - and makes a case out of it, citing examples where elements of NYT articles were made up. 🍊 Most memorable example? Alleging Bing says the NYT published…

7/ 💼 Another interesting point: NYT got really good lawyers. Susman Godfrey has a great reputation and track record taking on tech. This isn't a quick cash grab like the lawsuits filed a week after ChatGPT; it's a strategic legal challenge.

End/ The case could be a watershed moment for AI and copyright. A lot of folks saying OpenAI should have paid. We'll see! What's at stake? The future of AI innovation and the protection of creative content. Stay tuned. #OpenAI #IPLaw #Copyright #NYTimes

@CeciliaZin Betting because the "Deal" was Massively overpriced

@X_tulkus_X Tough to say. Strategic business development this early in the life of a technology is a lot like poker, but with more unknowns.

@CeciliaZin @threadreaderapp unroll please

@CeciliaZin Did negotiations fail because NYT reached out and OpenAI disputed their standing for owed payment? Or because they couldn't settle on an appropriate amount? Seems like the nuance in how this part went down would have big repercussions.

@CeciliaZin And hopefully they get it.

@CeciliaZin OpenAI won't see a "profit" for a very long time though

@CeciliaZin Wow, cool for NYT! They have a giant staff and resources. How about the independent creators who can't afford to go hand and hand against @OpenAI ? That's the bigger problem.