The New York Times has allowed Amazon to use its content for AI.
The companies have entered into an agreement for news to become part of Alexa and AI.
In 2023, the publication sued OpenAI.
The New York Times (The Times) has signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Amazon that will allow the tech giant to use the editorial content of the media for its artificial intelligence (AI) platforms.
The agreement covers not only news articles but also materials from NYT Cooking and the sports resource The Athletic. This is the first licensing collaboration of The Times specifically focused on generative AI.
"This agreement aligns with our long-standing principle: quality journalism has a price. We intentionally protect the value of our work — both through commercial agreements and through the protection of intellectual property," said CEO Meredith Kopit Levien in a message to employees.
In 2023, the publication sued OpenAI and Microsoft for unauthorized use of millions of articles to train chatbots, but is now taking a different path — licensing.
According to the Times team, media content can be used in products like Alexa and serve to train Amazon's own AI models. In some cases, the use of articles will be accompanied by a link to The Times website.
The financial details of the deal are not disclosed. Amazon declined to comment further than stated in the official press release.
Media noted that Axel Springer, Condé Nast, News Corp, and the Washington Post have already entered into similar agreements. This is part of a broader trend of seeking a balance between copyright and technological progress.
In turn, Amazon is actively investing in AI, particularly in Anthropic, and is also creating its own artificial general intelligence (AGI) lab led by former employees of Adept and Covariant. The agreement with The Times could become an important resource in the development of these ambitious projects.
