Media outlets around the world have decided to block access to the “GBT Bot” tool for scanning web pages, which was launched by the “Open AI” startup on August 8 in order to feed its programs to artificial intelligence, after accusing it of “stealing” its content.
The New York Times, CNN, ABC, Reuters and Bloomberg are among the media outlets that have decided to block the GBT bot. French news organizations have followed suit, most notably France 24, RFE, Mediapart, Radio France and TF1.
“There is one thing we do not tolerate: content theft,” said Sybil Fay, president of Radio France, during a press conference on Monday.
About 10 percent of the world’s top 1,000 websites blocked access to the GBT bot just two weeks after its launch, according to Originality.ai, a website that tracks plagiarism. These include Amazon.com, Wikihow.com, Quora.com, and Shutterstock. Originality.ai indicated that it expects these sites to increase by five percent on a weekly basis.
OpenAI says on its website that “allowing a GPT bot to access your site can help AI programs become more accurate and improve their overall capabilities.”
But the California startup also provides guidance on how to block the tool.
“There is no reason for them to come and see our free content,” Laurent Frisch, director of digital strategy and innovation at Radio France, told AFP.
“fair compensation”
Artificial intelligence tools became very popular last year thanks to their ability to create informative content with just short text instructions.
However, the companies behind these tools, such as OpenAI and StabilityAI, are facing lawsuits from artists, authors, and others who say their work has been plagiarized.
“We are fed up with these companies that are making profits at the expense of our production,” said Vincent Fleury, director of digital space at France Médias Monde, the parent company of France 24 and RFE.
French media executives have also expressed concern about their content being linked to misinformation, and said there is a need for talks with OpenAI and other AI groups.
“The media must receive fair compensation. Our desire is to obtain licensing and payment agreements,” said Bertrand J., news director at Le Figaro newspaper and head of the Online Services Publishers group.
Maintaining public confidence
In July, the Associated Press reached an agreement with OpenAI that would allow the startup to leverage the agency’s archives dating back to 1985 in exchange for access to its technology and expertise in artificial intelligence.
OpenAI also committed $5 million to support the expansion of the American Journalism Project, an organization that supports local media. It offered the nonprofit up to $5 million in funds to help organizations evaluate and deploy AI technologies.
In August, international media groups, including France Press, the Associated Press, and Gannett/USA Today, called in an open letter to political leaders and industry officials to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in the media.
“We support the advancement and responsible dissemination of generative AI, while believing that a legal framework is needed to protect content that powers applications that use AI, while maintaining public trust in the media,” the letter states.
2023-09-02 11:27:00
#Fear #stolen #content.. #Media #bans #GPTBot #tool #scanning #web #pages
