Microsoft exec called AI 'largest theft of labor'
The gist
Unsealed filings show a Microsoft exec called AI training data scraping "the largest theft of labor in human history".
The memo surfaces in the NYT copyright suit.
How it unfolded
- Jan 2023Brent Hecht, Microsoft Director of Applied Science, wrote an internal memo calling AI training data scraping "an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions" and "the largest theft of labor in human history".
- Dec 2023The New York Times filed a copyright suit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging both companies built commercial products on millions of the paper's articles without permission or payment.
- Apr 2025A federal judge let the core of the Times' case move forward.