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OpenAI, despite some setbacks in November, is making strides to strengthen its presence in the information ecosystem. The company has announced a partnership with the German media giant Axel Springer, known for brands like Politico and Business Insider, as well as European publications BILD and WELT.
This collaboration aims to provide summaries of Axel Springer’s articles and other journalistic content, including visuals, charts, videos, and possibly audio podcasts, to ChatGPT users. These summaries will link back to the full articles on Axel Springer’s websites and include proper attribution. Additionally, users will be able to ask questions to ChatGPT based on Axel Springer’s journalistic content.
OpenAI is reportedly paying “tens of millions of euros a year” for this access, which, while significant for most media companies, is a manageable expense for OpenAI, considering its estimated valuation of around $90 billion. This partnership marks OpenAI’s biggest step yet in its quest to integrate journalism into its AI model training. The company has previously partnered with the Associated Press and the American Journalism Project.
One of the main advantages of this partnership is addressing one of ChatGPT’s major criticisms: its lack of real-time knowledge. By accessing recent and archived news content from Axel Springer, OpenAI aims to offer a more current and authoritative information service.
However, OpenAI’s approach has faced criticism for its inconsistency. While it pays big publishers for content, it has been accused of scraping data from smaller publishers and individuals without permission or compensation. This issue is central to ongoing copyright infringement lawsuits against the company.
As OpenAI continues to license data, many point out the disparity in its treatment of large media companies versus smaller content creators, highlighting concerns about fairness and ethical practices in the industry.