To form the major language models (LLM) that power generative AI (genAI) technology, Microsoft and other AI companies must use enormous amounts of data. The more data and the higher its quality, the more effective LLMs will be.
It’s no surprise, then, that Microsoft, OpenAI, and other AI companies have found themselves embroiled in lawsuits claiming they are stealing intellectual property (IP) from newspapers, magazines, writers, publishers and others to train their tools. It could take years to resolve the lawsuits, but if the courts rule against AI companies, they could be held liable for billions of dollars and forced to retrain their models without using this property.
Now, however, there are signs that Microsoft, OpenAI and other tech companies might be willing to pay for the property. These are just first steps, but they could spark a resolution to one of genAI’s thorniest legal issues.