Table of Contents
The New York Times, a US news company, filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT.
The lawsuit claims that OpenAI used millions of articles from the New York Times without permission to train ChatGPT, an AI system.
The New York Times says that when people ask ChatGPT about current events, the system sometimes gives answers that are from New York Times articles. However, these articles are normally not free. People need to pay for a subscription to read the New York Times.
Because people might use ChatGPT to get information from the New York Times for free, the news company could lose money. People will stop paying for subscriptions.
The lawsuit also mentions Microsoft’s Bing search engine which uses ChatGPT. It claims that Bing might show results from New York Times articles, but not show a link to the New York Times website.
The New York Times tried to talk to Microsoft and OpenAI in April to solve this problem, but they couldn’t reach an agreement.
There are also many other lawsuits against OpenAI.
Some famous authors, like John Grisham and George RR Martin, as well as comedian Sarah Silverman, have started lawsuits against the company. They say that their work has been used without permission to train ChatGPT.
Other lawsuits say someone’s program code or artwork was used without permission to train ChatGPT. None of these lawsuits have been settled yet.
Vocabulary
- File a lawsuit – To officially start a legal case in court; to start a process by which a court of law makes a decision to end a disagreement
- Lawsuit – a complaint or disagreement that you bring to a court
- Claim – a statement; to say something, usually without proof or evidence; allegation; suggestion
- Million – 1,000,000 = one-million
- Article – A piece of writing in a newspaper, magazine, or online; a written news story
- Permission – allowed to do; authorization; approval; it’s OK to do
- Train (train AI) – To teach; To teach an artificial intelligence system to recognize/see patterns and make predictions; to give an AI system information it can use to “think”
- Artificial intelligence (AI) – human intelligence in a machine; A system that can think and learn like a human; See more here.
- Current event – Something important happening now; news
- Subscription – paying money regularly to receive a product or service (Netflix subscription; Amazon Prime subscription; newspaper subscription)
- Mention – to briefly or quickly talk about something; to say something, but not talk in detail about it
- Search engine – a computer program or website that helps users find information on the internet (e.g., Google, Bing, and Yahoo are search engines)
- Result – outcome; findings; conclusion; answer;
- Link – URL; a code or address that takes you to a website
- Solve – to find an answer; to find an explanation; to create a way to fix a problem; answer; work out
- Reach an agreement – when two or more parties come to a decision or understanding that they all agree on
- Agreement – an understanding; a plan or contract made between two or more people/groups
- Author – a person who writes a book, article, or other types of writings
- Comedian – A person who makes people laugh by telling jokes;
- Program code – Instructions given to a computer to make it work; Instructions that tell a computer what to do
- Artwork – A piece of creative work, like a painting or drawing.
- Settle – To resolve or finish something; Agreeing to end a disagreement
Quiz
Discussion Questions
- Do you think companies like OpenAI should be allowed to use articles from newspapers without permission? Why or why not?
- Why do you think authors like John Grisham and George RR Martin are upset with OpenAI using their work?
- What might be some other solutions Microsoft, OpenAI, and The New York Times could consider instead of going to court?
- Who do you think should be responsible for training AI systems: the companies that create them, the people who use them, or no one?
- English teachers looking for teaching ideas, check out my post on using easy news articles for lessons.
- English learners looking for study ideas, check out my post on using news stories for English practice.
Original Story
Fill-in-the-Blank Listening Practice
The New York Times, a US _____ company, filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI, the _____ of ChatGPT.
The lawsuit claims that OpenAI _____ millions of articles from the New York Times without permission to _____ ChatGPT, an AI system.
The New York Times says that _____ people ask ChatGPT about current events, the system _____ gives answers that are from New York Times articles. However, these _____ are normally not free. People need to pay for a _____ to read the New York Times.
Because people _____ use ChatGPT to get information from the New York Times for _____, the news company could lose money. _____will stop paying for subscriptions.
The lawsuit also _____ Microsoft’s Bing search engine which uses ChatGPT. It claims that Bing might _____ results from New York Times articles, but not show a link to the New York Times _____.
The New York Times _____ to talk to Microsoft and OpenAI in April to solve this problem, but they couldn’t _____ an agreement.
There are also _____ other lawsuits against OpenAI.
Some famous authors, _____ John Grisham and George RR Martin, as well as comedian Sarah Silverman, _____ started lawsuits against the company. They say that their work has _____ used without permission to train ChatGPT.
_____ lawsuits say someone’s program code or _____ was used without permission to train ChatGPT. None of these lawsuits have been _____ yet.
