The Shadow Web: How Big Tech is Hijacking Journalism

The recent revelations about Microsoft and OpenAI’s web scraping practices have sent shockwaves through the tech industry. Court documents unsealed in a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft reveal that executives from both companies viewed the scraping of millions of news articles as an “existential threat” to journalism, with one Microsoft executive calling it the “largest theft of labor in human history.”

This isn’t just about copyright law; it’s about the fundamental relationship between big tech and the media. For years, we’ve been told that AI is a neutral tool, but these documents show that the truth is more sinister: AI is being used as a means to bypass the systems that allow journalists to do their work.

The fact that OpenAI and Microsoft were able to scrape millions of articles without permission or compensation raises questions about the value they place on journalism. News gathering is seen as just another source of data to be exploited, which threatens the future of independent reporting.

Dr. Brent Hecht, Microsoft’s director of Applied Science, made comments that are particularly telling: “large AI models…are a product that destroys its supply chain.” This means big tech sees journalism not as a vital component of democracy but as a mere commodity to be harvested.

This isn’t a new development; we’ve seen it time and time again. Big tech companies use their vast resources to circumvent the law and exploit the work of others. The “fair use” doctrine is often cited in cases like this, but these loopholes can quickly become gaping holes when they’re exploited for corporate profiteering.

The lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft are just the tip of the iceberg. As AI becomes more pervasive, it’s clear that big tech is using it to supplant journalism rather than augment it. This new kind of industrial-scale theft threatens not only the livelihoods of journalists but also the very fabric of our democracy.

Comments from OpenAI and Microsoft executives reveal a culture of complacency and enthusiasm for exploiting others’ work. When an employee wrote to OpenAI’s president Greg Brockman about a paywall hack, his response was a mere “ah nice.” This is not just corporate indifference; it’s a clear indication that big tech sees journalism as nothing more than a means to an end.

In the past few years, we’ve seen high-profile lawsuits against big tech companies for copyright infringement. But these cases are often shrouded in technical jargon and obscure legal doctrine. The court documents unsealed in this case provide a rare glimpse into the inner workings of big tech’s AI development process.

Microsoft disavowed its own employees’ statements, which is telling. When executives are willing to speak out against their own company’s practices, you know there’s something rotten at the core. The statement from Microsoft spokesperson Alex Haurek, claiming that “Copilot is not a substitute for publishers’ journalism,” rings hollow given the evidence.

As we move forward in this era of AI-fueled innovation, it’s essential to have a nuanced conversation about the implications of web scraping and AI use. We need to recognize that big tech companies are powerful entities with their own interests at heart, and not benevolent actors. The future of journalism depends on our ability to regulate these interests and ensure that the rules protect creators, not corporate profiteers.

Ultimately, this is about more than just a lawsuit or a technical dispute over copyright law. It’s about the very survival of independent reporting in the face of an increasingly hostile landscape. Big tech will stop at nothing to exploit journalism and undermine democracy.