The Financial Times (FT) has become the latest prominent news organization to enter into a strategic partnership with OpenAI, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company and the developer of the popular ChatGPT language model.
The partnership is a significant milestone in the collaboration between news organizations and AI technology companies, underscoring the growing importance of AI tools in the media landscape and the need for reliable, high-quality content to train these models effectively.
Licensing Content and Advancing AI Technology
Under the terms of the agreement, OpenAI will collaborate with the FT to develop new AI products, leveraging the publication’s content and expertise. In exchange, the FT will gain access to OpenAI’s advanced AI technology, including its flagship language model, ChatGPT.
The FT has already demonstrated its commitment to embracing AI technology by introducing a generative AI search function called “Ask FT,” powered by Anthropic’s Claude large language model. This feature provides subscribers with enhanced search capabilities across the publication’s extensive archive of articles.
John Ridding, CEO of the Financial Times Group, emphasized the publication’s commitment to “human journalism” despite its partnership with OpenAI. He stressed the importance of AI platforms compensating publishers for the use of their material, ensuring that AI-generated content remains grounded in reliable sources.
A Growing Trend in News and AI Partnerships
OpenAI’s strategy of partnering with news organizations to license content for training AI models is not unique to the FT. The company has struck similar agreements with other media giants, including Axel Springer, the publisher behind Business Insider, Politico, Bild, and Welt, and the Associated Press.
However, the compensation offered by OpenAI to news organizations for content licensing has been a point of contention. Reports suggest that OpenAI typically offers between $1 million and $5 million for content licenses, significantly less than what other companies like Apple are offering for similar agreements.
Furthermore, the use of AI tools and how they are trained has raised concerns among creators, particularly in relation to copyright law.
Challenges and Controversies in AI and Content Licensing
The New York Times filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and investor Microsoft in December 2023, alleging copyright infringement related to ChatGPT’s use of Times content. Similarly, The Intercept, Raw Story, and AlterNet filed a separate lawsuit with similar allegations against OpenAI and Microsoft in February.
Despite these legal challenges, partnerships between AI companies and news organizations continue to evolve, reflecting the ongoing transformation of the media landscape in the digital age. As AI technology advances, it is crucial for publishers to strike a balance between embracing innovation and protecting their intellectual property rights.
By partnering with OpenAI, the Financial Times is positioning itself at the forefront of this technological revolution, leveraging AI to enhance its content offerings while ensuring transparency, attribution, and fair compensation for its journalism.