Apple is looking to strike a deal with news publishers to help build its generative artificial intelligence systems.
According to a report Friday from The New York Times, the American technology giant has “floated multiyear deals worth at least $50 million to license the archives of news articles” that it will use for developing its own AI systems.
Among the news publishers contacted are Condé Nast, publisher of Vogue and The New Yorker; NBC News; and IAC, the holding company that owns People and The Daily Beast, as well as a host of other publications.
The negotiations indicate that Apple wants to use a pioneering deal to establish itself alongside competitors such as Microsoft, OpenAI and Google in the race to enhance generative A.I., allowing computers to generate images and engage in human-like conversations.
Apple’s bid to buy the rights to news articles comes as many top AI developers are facing lawsuits on numerous grounds, including allegations of appropriating content and employing it for training purposes without providing payment or obtaining consent from its copyright owners.
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In September, the legal journal National Law Review reported that the legal ground remains murky:
“To date, courts have appeared reluctant to impose liability on AI developers and have expressed skepticism of plaintiffs’ rhetoric around AI’s purported world-ending potential,” the article noted. “Courts have also found a number of recent complaints to be lacking in the specific, factual, and technical details necessary to proceed beyond the pleadings stage.”
The Times reported that publishers have been “lukewarm” to Apple’s offers.
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“Several publishing executives were concerned that Apple’s terms were too expansive, according to three people familiar with the negotiations,” the article stated.
“The initial pitch covered broad licensing of publishers’ archives of published content, with publishers potentially on the hook for any legal liabilities that could stem from Apple’s use of their content.”
Breaking News: Apple is in talks with media companies about using their content to develop its own generative AI, people familiar with the negotiations said. https://t.co/9b8v4y7msh
— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 22, 2023
However, there were grounds for optimism, according to the Times.
“Still, some news executives were optimistic that Apple’s approach might eventually lead to a meaningful partnership. Two people familiar with the discussions struck a positive note on the long-term prospects of a deal, contrasting Apple’s approach of asking for permission with behavior from other artificial intelligence-enabled companies, which have been accused of seeking licensing deals with news organizations after they had already used their content to train its generative models.”
In July, Bloomberg revealed that Apple was “quietly working” on building its own artificial intellingence tools, but noted that the company has “yet to devise a clear strategy for releasing the technology to consumers.”
“In recent months, the AI push has become a major effort for Apple, with several teams collaborating on the project,” the outlet reported. “The work includes trying to address potential privacy concerns related to the technology.”
“The company was caught flat-footed in the past year with the introduction of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google Bard and Microsoft’s Bing AI,” it continued.
“Though Apple has woven AI features into products for years, it’s now playing catch-up in the buzzy market for generative tools.”
Meanwhile, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an interview with Forbes in September that the company would make sure to take a thoughtful approach to the development of generative AI
“We’ve been working on generative AI for years and have done a lot of research,” Cook said.
“You know, we’ve never felt an urgency to be first, we’ve always felt an urgency to be best, and that is how we go into this as well.”
