Microsoft Director Privately Admitted AI Was the “Largest Theft of Labor in Human History,” Unsealed Court Documents Show
TL;DR
Unsealed court documents in The New York Times' copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft include a striking view from inside Microsoft: Brent Hecht, the company's Director of Applied Science, called AI model training the largest theft of labor in human history and said letting the defendants claim fair use would make a mockery of the doctrine. The Times alleges both companies copied millions of its articles without permission to build competing AI products.
Nauti's Take
For publishers and creators this is an opportunity: when a Microsoft director calls AI training theft, their position in court and in licensing talks gets stronger. The catch is that one internal quote does not settle a fair use case, and the lawsuit could drag on for years.
Teams building on AI tools should watch the case closely, since a loss for OpenAI and Microsoft would reshape training data, licensing and pricing across the industry.
Sources