• Media group Condé Nast has struck a deal with OpenAI on Tuesday to allow the AI provider to use its content.
  • Condé Nast, which owns a number of leading media assets, is just the latest in a long line of major news companies that have partnered with OpenAI to develop artificial intelligence as the technology becomes more prominent.

OUR TAKE
Not only Condé Nast, but also the news media industry has been cooperating with artificial intelligence is a general trend, while conforming to the trend, each enterprise should comply with the relevant regulations, implement and fulfil the principles of the law, and face the development of science and technology with a highly responsible attitude.
— Iydia Ding, BTW reporter

What happened

Media conglomerate Condé Nast has struck a deal with OpenAI on Tuesday to allow the AI provider to use its content.

In a memo to staff, Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch wrote that the multi-year partnership shows that “it is critical that we meet our audiences where they are and embrace new technologies, while also ensuring appropriate attribution and compensation for the use of our intellectual property. The CEO added that the partnership with OpenAI will begin to “offset some of our revenues and allow us to continue to protect and invest in our journalistic and creative work”.

Throughout the process, OpenAI has shown that they are also very committed to this mission, and is willing to work productively with publishers like Condé Nast so that the public has access to reliable information and news through their platforms,” he continued, “This partnership recognises that there is no substitute for the exceptional content produced by Condé Nast and many of our titles, and it is a step towards ensuring that our technology-led future of the company is a step forward in responsible creation.”

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Why it’s important

While News Corp, Vox and Reddit have all announced similar deals with OpenAI in recent months, The New York Times and other newspapers have taken the opposite approach, suing Microsoft and OpenAI and claiming that it violated copyright laws by using their articles to train AI programmes. Condé Nast, which owns leading media assets such as Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Vogue, and Wired, is just the latest in a long line of major news companies that have partnered with OpenAI to develop AI as the technology becomes more prominent.

“News and digital media have faced serious challenges over the past decade as many tech companies have eroded publishers’ ability to profit from their content, most recently traditional search,” Lynch wrote. The news media industry has been cooperating with AI for a long time, and while following the trend, each company should also comply with the relevant regulations, implement and fulfil the legal principles, and face the development of technology in a highly responsible manner.