News Corp Calls Out AI Firms for Using Their Stories

News Corp, the big media company behind many of our newspapers like The Daily Telegraph and The Herald Sun, has some strong words for certain artificial intelligence (AI) companies. They're basically calling them 'kleptomaniacs' – a fancy way of saying thieves – for using their news articles and stories to train their AI systems without asking or paying.

This isn't just big businesses squabbling. It highlights a growing issue in the world of AI: where does the information come from? AI models learn by sifting through massive amounts of data, including articles, books, and websites. News Corp's argument is that if their journalists spent time and effort creating those stories, then AI companies should pay for the right to use them to make their AI smarter.

They're not saying AI is bad, but they are saying it needs to be fair. They want companies like OpenAI and Meta, who are developing these powerful AI tools, to be 'principled' and 'honourable' by entering into proper agreements and paying for the content they use. It’s about recognising the value of human-created work in a world increasingly powered by machines.

For Australian small business owners, this conversation is important because it sets a precedent. If AI systems can freely use copyrighted material, what does that mean for your own unique content or creations in the future? It’s a reminder that as AI becomes more common, we need clear rules about how it uses and attributes information.