OpenAI CEO Sam Altman defends AI use of news content

Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI, on Thursday defended use of copyright news articles and opinion pieces in training AI models like ChatGPT, saying it followed the US principle of fair use.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, aims to balance content use with collaboration with creators, he said.

"Our stance is that when we're displaying a quote from a news article or an opinion piece or something like that, we want to do that in a way where we can explore new business models with creators for training," Altman said.


He added that OpenAI relies on the US principle of fair use, noting that "models can learn like people can learn, but models also can't play tricks that people can't play."

Altman framed this approach as a pathway for AI to responsibly learn from existing content while respecting intellectual property rights.

His remarks come amid ongoing legal challenges from publishers, who allege that AI models have used their work without permission.

OpenAI has defended its practices as consistent with fair use, while also exploring licensing and partnership opportunities to ensure creators benefit from AI training.