OpenAI is playing dirty in its legal spat with The New York Times. The AI firm sensationally claimed this week that the Times “hacked” ChatGPT to gin up a lawsuit against OpenAI.
Let’s backup. Two months ago, the Times slapped OpenAI with a big copyright lawsuit. The paper alleges OpenAI fed tons of Times articles into its hot new chatbot, ChatGPT, without permission. Now OpenAI wants parts of the suit dismissed because, it says, the Times deceitfully tricked ChatGPT to get evidence.
But OpenAI is likely crying wolf. Its hacking claim comes with no proof. And the Times quickly fired back, saying it simply used ChatGPT normally to uncover OpenAI’s alleged infringement.
“What OpenAI bizarrely mischaracterizes as ‘hacking’ is simply using OpenAI’s products,” said Times lawyer Ian Crosby.
OpenAI’s baseless hacking allegation reeks of desperation. The startup remains in hot water over its use of copyrighted text to train ChatGPT’s “brain.” Huge tech firms say this training constitutes “fair use,” but the law is still muddy.
Given the suit’s high stakes, OpenAI is trying to muddy the waters further with distraction. But the Times won’t stand for it.
“The allegations in the Times’s complaint do not meet its famously rigorous journalistic standards,” OpenAI claimed. This indignant statement would be laughable if it wasn’t such a transparent attempt at PR spin.
OpenAI should know better than to pick a fight with the Gray Lady. Sure, it can whip up tales of hacking and deception. But the Times has a century-long reputation for credibility. It’s no contest as to who the public will believe.
One thing’s for certain: OpenAI just made an enemy of the paper of record. Expect the Times to come back swinging hard.
