The New York Times (NYT) alleges that Microsoft and OpenAI knew that using its news content for training and related uses amounted to theft. The claim is tied to an internal NYT document cited by reporting that describes how the companies used scraped news articles and how some Microsoft personnel allegedly characterized the practice.

According to outlets covering the allegation, Microsoft’s Director of Applied Science Brent Hect described the conduct as “an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions” and said it could be the “largest theft of labor in human history.” Other reporting also says OpenAI and Microsoft scraped content from more than 10 million articles, with nearly a third coming from the NYT.

The reporting also notes the broader context of AI and news publishers. Concerns persist that generative AI systems can reduce traffic to news websites, even as OpenAI signs content agreements with global publishers since ChatGPT’s launch in 2022. Outlets differ in emphasis, with some focusing on the specific language attributed to Microsoft leadership and others on the scale of scraping and the potential impact on news distribution.