Condé Nast, the media conglomerate that owns publications reminiscent of The New Yorker, Vogue and Wired, has despatched a cease-and-desist letter to AI-powered search startup Perplexity, according to The Data. The letter, which was despatched on Monday, calls for that Perplexity cease utilizing content material from Condé Nast publications in its AI-generated responses and accused the startup of plagiarism.
The transfer makes Condé Nast the newest in a rising record of publishers taking a stand in opposition to the unauthorized use of their content material by AI firms, and comes a month after similar action taken by Forbes. Perplexity and Condé Nast didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Engadget.
Perplexity, a San Francisco-based startup, is valued at $3 billion and backed by high-profile traders together with the Jeff Bezos household fund and NVIDIA, has lately come underneath scrutiny for not respecting copyright and ripping off content material to feed its AI-generated responses. The controversy surrounding the corporate extends past copyright considerations.
A latest investigation from Wired reveled that the startup’s internet crawlers don’t respect robots.txt, a kind of file that web site homeowners can use to dam bots from scraping their content material. Final month, Amazon Internet Providers reportedly launched an investigation to find out whether or not the startup broke its guidelines round internet scraping. Shortly after, a report from Reuters confirmed that Perplexity was simply one of many many AI firms ignoring robots.txt.
This apply has sparked concerns concerning the moral and authorized implications of AI improvement and its influence on content material creators and publishers. In response, Perplexity executives have talked about beginning a revenue-sharing program with publishers, though it’s nonetheless unclear what its phrases will probably be.
Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch has warned that “many” media firms might face monetary damage by the point it could take for litigation in opposition to generative AI firms to conclude. Lynch has referred to as upon Congress to take “quick motion” by asking AI firms to compensate publishers for the usage of their content material and placing licensing offers sooner or later. Earlier this month, three senators introduced the COPIED Act, a invoice that goals to guard journalists, artists and songwriters from AI firms utilizing their content material to coach AI fashions.
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