Key Takeaways
- The New York Times Company is licensing its articles and other content to Amazon for use in its artificial intelligence systems.
- This multiyear agreement covers news, recipes from NYT Cooking, and sports coverage from The Athletic.
- It’s the Times’ first licensing deal specifically for generative AI, contrasting with its ongoing legal action against other tech companies for unpaid content use.
- The financial details haven’t been shared, but the Times says it underscores the value of quality journalism.
The New York Times Company has struck a deal to let Amazon use its vast library of content, including news articles, for its artificial intelligence platforms. The news organization announced the multiyear agreement on Thursday.
This arrangement means Amazon will get access to editorial content from The New York Times, as well as material from NYT Cooking and the sports site The Athletic, for various Amazon customer experiences.
This marks the first time The Times has licensed its content with a specific focus on generative AI technology. It’s a different approach compared to its current lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, whom The Times accuses of using its articles to train AI without payment.
While the financial terms of the Amazon deal remain under wraps, Meredith Kopit Levien, the chief executive of The Times, stated it aligns with their principle that “high-quality journalism is worth paying for.” She emphasized in a note to staff that the company is committed to ensuring its work is valued, whether through commercial deals or by enforcing its intellectual property rights, according to The New York Times.
Amazon could integrate this content into its Alexa voice assistant, potentially providing summaries or excerpts from Times reporting, which would include attribution and links back to the original source. The material will also help train Amazon’s own AI models, The Times confirmed.
Amazon itself chose not to comment beyond the statement issued by The Times.
This development comes as news organizations across the industry are grappling with how to navigate the rise of AI, especially since many AI programs learn by processing millions of online news stories.
