AI systems to be trained using articles from The New York Times, as per Amazon deal

In a significant move, Amazon and The New York Times Co. have sealed a deal that grants the tech giant access to a vast array of content produced by the renowned media company. The collaboration, which was announced this summer, extends beyond the financial terms of the agreement, as The New York Times Co. has multiple revenue streams.

The agreement allows Amazon to leverage The New York Times' journalistic content, spanning from daily news publications to specialized content from NYT Cooking and The Athletic. This content will be instrumental in enhancing Amazon's AI capabilities, particularly in training its proprietary foundation models.

The financial terms of the agreement involve Amazon paying The New York Times Co. a minimum of $20 million. This payment, representing approximately 1% of The New York Times Co.'s operating budget for the 2024 fiscal year, underscores the significant financial implications of the deal for the media company, given its relatively smaller scale compared to Amazon.

The collaboration also extends to Amazon's voice assistant, Alexa. The intended purpose is to bring real-time summaries and brief excerpts of The New York Times articles into Amazon's ecosystem of products and services.

Meanwhile, in a separate development, The New York Times is embroiled in legal disputes with technology companies, including a case against Microsoft and OpenAI, alleging copyright infringement related to the unauthorized use of its content within ChatGPT. However, these legal disputes are not directly related to the agreement between Amazon and The New York Times Co.

It is worth noting that Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder, has a separate connection to the news industry through his ownership of The Washington Post. The agreement between Amazon and The New York Times Co. does not involve The Washington Post.

A judge has recently ruled that The New York Times' case against OpenAI can proceed, marking a notable development in the legal landscape surrounding AI and copyright. This ruling underscores the complexities and nuances that arise when traditional media content intersects with AI technology.

As the landscape of media and technology continues to evolve, collaborations such as this one between Amazon and The New York Times Co. are poised to shape the future of AI capabilities and the way we consume news.

AI systems to be trained using articles from The New York Times, as per Amazon deal