---
title: "OpenAI is faulted by media for using articles to train ChatGPT"
description: "Major news outlets have begun criticising OpenAI and its ChatGPT software, saying the lab is using their articles to train its artificial intelligence tool without paying them."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Business Maverick"
author: "Bloomberg"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/bloomberg/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-02-17-openai-is-faulted-by-media-for-using-articles-to-train-chatgpt/"
published: "2023-02-17T05:51:18"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 372
---

# OpenAI is faulted by media for using articles to train ChatGPT

> Major news outlets have begun criticising OpenAI and its ChatGPT software, saying the lab is using their articles to train its artificial intelligence tool without paying them.

By Bloomberg · Published 17 February 2023, 07:51 SAST

## Key points
- Dow Jones has raised concerns that OpenAI is using Wall Street Journal content to train its ChatGPT chatbot without permission. According to Jason Conti, Dow Jones general counsel, the company is reviewing the situation and takes misuse of their journalists' work seriously. This follows a lawsuit against GitHub, Microsoft Corp and OpenAI in November for allegedly plagiarising human developers and a group of artists suing AI generators for downloading and using copyrighted images without authorisation. Similarly, CNN believes its articles are being used without permission and plans to reach out to OpenAI about being paid for licensing rights. Artificial intelligence has been controversial in the news industry, with some fearing it will take over jobs or spread misinformation.
- Dow Jones has not struck a deal with OpenAI to use Wall Street Journal journalists' work to train AI
- News organisations are concerned that their content is being used without authorisation by AI systems
- In January, a group of artists sued AI generators for downloading and using copyrighted images without permission
- The use of AI has been controversial in the news industry, with some journalists worried about job security and the spread of misinformation

## Content

“Anyone who wants to use the work of*Wall Street Journal* journalists to train artificial intelligence should be properly licensing the rights to do so from Dow Jones,” Jason Conti, general counsel for News Corp’s Dow Jones unit, said in a statement provided to Bloomberg News. “Dow Jones does not have such a deal with OpenAI.”

Conti added: “We take the misuse of our journalists’ work seriously, and are reviewing this situation.”

The news groups’ concerns arose when the computational journalist Francesco Marconi posted a tweet this week saying their work was being used to train ChatGPT. Marconi said he asked the chatbot for a list of news sources it was trained on and received a response naming 20 outlets.

ChatGPT is trained on a large amount of news data from top sources that fuel its AI. It’s unclear whether OpenAI has agreements with all of these publishers. Scraping data without permission would break the publishers’ terms of service. [pic.twitter.com/RXEjMHWXiI](https://t.co/RXEjMHWXiI)

— Francesco Marconi (@fpmarconi) [February 15, 2023](https://twitter.com/fpmarconi/status/1625867414410825728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

News organisations aren’t the first companies to raise questions about whether their content is being used without authorisation by artificial intelligence systems. In November, GitHub, Microsoft Corp and OpenAI [were sued](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-09/github-s-openai-powered-copilot-sparks-legal-debate) in a case that alleged a tool called GitHub Copilot was essentially plagiarising human developers in violation of their licences.

In January, a group of artists sued AI generators Stability AI, Midjourney and DeviantArt, claiming those companies downloaded and used billions of copyrighted images without compensating or obtaining the consent of the artists.

Like the *Journal*, CNN believes that using its articles to train ChatGPT violates the network’s terms of service, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The network, owned by Warner Bros Discovery Inc, plans to reach out to OpenAI about being paid to licence the content, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing a legal matter.

The use of artificial intelligence has been controversial in the news industry. Some journalists worry that technology will take over their jobs. Others fear the spread of misinformation. In recent weeks, publications like [CNET](https://futurism.com/cnet-ai-errors) and [Men’s Journal](https://futurism.com/neoscope/magazine-mens-journal-errors-ai-health-article) have been forced to correct AI-written articles that were riddled with errors. **BM/DM**