US media billionaire Barry Diller has warned that the use of artificial intelligence will be “disruptive” for journalism if publishers cannot use copyright law to control it.
Speaking at the Sir Harry Evans Global Summit in Investigative Journalism in London, Diller said it would prove to be a mistake to allow AI unfettered access to media content. The concept of “fair use”, which can be used to cover copyrighted material, has had to be redefined – datasets for machine learning.
Diller, president of the media and internet group IAC, said, “You can’t have fair use when there’s an endless unfair machine.”
Media groups are concerned about their publications being used as the basis for creating generative AI. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson said earlier this year that the group was already seeking financial compensation from AI companies for using “proprietary” content.
Diller said Wednesday that he is working with News Corp. and German publisher Axel Springer to protect journalism from threats.
“We are leading a group that argues that we will change copyright laws where necessary and that our material cannot be taken out or we will sue. What you publish is you.” has the right to control,” he said.
Diller added that there would be a wave of disruption in the journalism industry without a mechanism for publishers to get paid. “I think it would be a terrible mistake to allow a publisher to siphon all known work that has ever been done.”
Axel Springer said, “It’s not transparent how AI software works and how journalism content is crawled, scraped, used and stored.” This is an opportunity to avoid repeating the mistakes of platform regulation and build a fair and healthy ecosystem early on. ”
Matthias Dopfner, head of Axel Springer, warned earlier this year that AI poses big risks and big opportunities for the media. “Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve or even replace independent journalism,” he says.
But one person familiar with the industry debate downplayed the role of Axel Springer (owner of Bild, Die Welt and Politico) in Diller’s campaign, calling the company a “leadership.” He expressed it as ‘one voice among many’ rather than ‘a position’. price”.
News Corp declined to comment.
Diller also warned of the impact of the recent FOX News scandal on Rupert Murdoch. The incident “will tarnish him and his reputation forever,” he said. . . He and his son are polluting the atmosphere and it’s a bad legacy. ”
Fox fired top presenter Tucker Carlson after being forced to pay $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems over allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 US presidential election. .
“Audiences trust Fox News’ strong team of journalists, analysts and thought moderators more than any other news source,” said Fox.
Dominion Voting Systems CEO Jon Polos, who also spoke at the event, said he had no regrets agreeing to settle rather than pursue the case in court, saying it was “truth in journalism.” You’re going to pay a very high price to convey that,” he added.
