Unsealed filings: Microsoft, OpenAI execs called AI training 'largest theft of labor in human history'

2026-09-17 19:46 UTC – 2026-09-18 18:35 UTC

Neutral summary

Newly unsealed court documents in The New York Times lawsuit reveal that executives at Microsoft and OpenAI privately acknowledged that training large language models on millions of news articles constituted an “astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions” and possibly the “largest theft of labor in human history.” An internal Microsoft document also warned that generative AI products had created a “doom loop” killing “the entire web.” The Times alleges the companies used over 10 million articles, nearly a third from the newspaper itself, while a Microsoft spokesperson said the comments by applied science director Brent Hecht were “the personal opinion of an employee” and did not reflect the company's position. OpenAI and Microsoft are defending the practice as “fair use.”

How it was framed

Outlets: 27. Countries: 12. Facts in the shared core: 3.

Publication timeline

2026-09-17 19:46 · TechCrunch (outlet profile)
Microsoft exec called AI scraping ‘the largest theft of labor in human history,’ new unredacted filings reveal. Newly unsealed court filings show Microsoft privately called OpenAI's data practices "theft" while both com…
2026-09-17 20:10 · Ars Technica (outlet profile)
Microsoft exec called AI scraping the “largest theft of labor in human history”. Microsoft, OpenAI emails reveal fear of AI “doom loop” killing news orgs.
2026-09-17 21:47 · Channel NewsAsia (outlet profile)
OpenAI, Microsoft executives' quotes on AI training threaten copyright defense, news outlets argue
2026-09-17 23:16 · The New York Times (outlet profile)
Inside Microsoft and OpenAI, Worry About Damaging the Publishing Industry. Newly unsealed court documents show Microsoft employees discussing whether OpenAI was involved in the “largest theft of labor in human history.”
2026-09-18 01:10 · Clarín (outlet profile)
El NYT afirma que Microsoft y OpenAI sabían que usar artículos periodísticos era un robo. OpenAI es acusado de usar millones de artículos para entrenar IA, incluyendo contenido del New York Times, lo que desató demandas…
2026-09-18 01:10 · G1 (outlet profile)
Uma das principais empresas de IA do mundo revela situações em que a tecnologia agiu por conta própria; veja episódios. Empresa do ChatGPT admite casos em que inteligência artificial agiu por conta própria A OpenAI, uma…
2026-09-18 01:19 · Channel NewsAsia (outlet profile)
NYT alleges Microsoft, OpenAI knew using news content was theft
2026-09-18 01:25 · New York Post (outlet profile)
Staffers at tech giants knew AI tools posed ‘existential threat’ to news publishers: court docs. It is highly unusual that an end-product threatens the economic foundations of its essential suppliers," said Brent Hecht,…
2026-09-18 01:29 · El Economista (outlet profile)
NYT afirma que Microsoft y OpenAI sabían que usar artículos periodísticos para entrenar IA era robo. El documento judicial afirma que Brent Hecht, director de Ciencia Aplicada de Microsoft, lo calificó como "un asombros…
2026-09-18 02:28 · La Repubblica (outlet profile)
Manager di Microsoft: “L’addestramento dell'Ia è il più grande furto di lavoro della storia”. Le dichiarazioni sono contenute in alcuni documenti appena desecretati che riguardano la causa legale intentata dal New York…
2026-09-18 02:53 · O Globo (outlet profile)
OpenAI cometeu 'roubo impressionante' ao utilizar milhões de artigos para treinar sua IA, diz o NY Times. A OpenAI cometeu um "roubo impressionante de proporções sem precedentes" ao utilizar milhões de artigos jornalíst…
2026-09-18 04:21 · RTÉ News (outlet profile)
NYT says Microsoft, OpenAI knew using content was theft. OpenAI committed "an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions" when it used millions of news articles to train its artificial intelligence models, the New Y…
2026-09-18 05:04 · BFMTV (outlet profile)
"Un vol stupéfiant d'une ampleur sans précédent": un cadre de Microsoft s'inquiétait de la copie d'articles de presse pour alimenter l'IA. Ces messages internes ont été versés à la procédure judiciaire lancée par le New…
2026-09-18 05:13 · Heise (outlet profile)
„Größter Diebstahl von Arbeitskraft“: Intern Kritik bei Microsoft an KI-Training. Die New York Times hat gegen OpenAI und Microsoft wegen unerlaubter Verwendung von Texten fürs KI-Training geklagt. Intern werden die Arg…
2026-09-18 05:47 · Sud Ouest (outlet profile)
Intelligence artificielle : un cadre de Microsoft qualifie la copie d’articles du New York Times par l’IA de « vol sans précédent ». Dans le cadre du procès intenté par le New York Times, des documents internes révèlent…
2026-09-18 06:49 · Golem (outlet profile)
Urheberrechtsstreit um KI-Training: Dokumente belasten Microsoft und OpenAI im NYT-Prozess. Interne Dokumente aus dem NYT-Prozess zeigen: Microsoft und OpenAI räumen Traffic-Einbrüche, gestohlene Inhalte und Paywall-Umg…
2026-09-18 06:54 · iNews (outlet profile)
Six things we learned from a legal fight over AI’s ‘doom loop’ of copyright theft. A Microsoft executive allegedly admitted that AI training could be seen as 'an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions'
2026-09-18 07:00 · O Globo (outlet profile)
Camada intermediária da IA vira novo centro de disputa de gigantes. Desde o surgimento do ChatGPT, boa parte da atenção de pessoas e empresas ficou concentrada nos grandes modelos de inteligência artificial (IA), os cha…
2026-09-18 08:00 · Folha de S.Paulo (outlet profile)
Podcast discute riscos de a IA ameaçar a humanidade e analisa discurso das big techs. A OpenAI revelou nesta semana que identificou seis novos casos em que sistemas de inteligência artificial ocultaram erros, inventaram…
2026-09-18 08:00 · Valor Economico (outlet profile)
OpenAI copiou milhões de artigos, diz NY Times. A OpenAI copiou milhões de artigos protegidos por direitos autorais em um esforço para desenvolver uma tecnologia que pode valer “milhões e milhões de dólares”, apesar de…
2026-09-18 09:03 · Die Welt (outlet profile)
Microsoft-Manager spricht vom „größten Diebstahl in der Geschichte der Menschheit“. Ein führender Microsoft-Mitarbeiter nennt das KI-Training mit „New York Times“-Texten intern einen „Diebstahl von beispiellosem Ausmaß“…
2026-09-18 09:27 · Habr News (outlet profile)
OpenAI и Microsoft признали уничтожение веба со стороны LLM. Руководители Microsoft и OpenAI, работающие над ИИ, признали , что большие языковые модели отличаются «поразительной кражей беспрецедентных масштабов» пр…
2026-09-18 10:07 · TechRadar (outlet profile)
Microsoft exec said AI scraping was ‘the largest theft of labor in human history,’ lawsuit filings reveal. NYT and countless other publications impacted by AI scraping and dropping click-throughs, but Trump seems to sup…
2026-09-18 11:22 · Engadget (outlet profile)
Microsoft executive called OpenAI's web scraping the 'largest theft of labor in human history'. Executives from OpenAI and Microsoft were reportedly worried about ChatGPT training that scraped millions of news articles.
2026-09-18 11:34 · G1 (outlet profile)
Diretor da Microsoft chamou de 'roubo' uso de reportagens do NYT para treinar modelos da própria empresa e da OpenAI. Logo da Microsoft em Cambridge, em foto de arquivo Reuters/Brian Snyder A OpenAI cometeu um "roubo im…
2026-09-18 13:45 · Poder360 (outlet profile)
“NY Times” diz que OpenAI e Microsoft “roubaram” artigos para treinar IA. Jornal diz que empresas usaram mais de 10 milhões de textos para desenvolver sistemas de inteligência artificial; empresas alegam “uso justo” e p…
2026-09-18 14:20 · New York Post (outlet profile)
Microsoft, OpenAI workers privately worried their work is ‘largest theft of labor in human history’. Microsoft and OpenAI workers privately shared concerns that their use of millions of news articles to develop AI bots…
2026-09-18 15:27 · The Decoder (outlet profile)
AI training built on fair use looks shaky when the companies' own people call it "astonishing theft". Internal emails and sworn testimony undercut OpenAI and Microsoft's fair use defense. A Microsoft director described…
2026-09-18 16:48 · Clarín (outlet profile)
Clarín advierte sobre personas que se hacen pasar por periodistas y piden beneficios en restaurantes. Ofrecen notas a cambio de comidas y en algunos casos solicitan dinero para supuestos viáticos. Clarín aclara que no p…
2026-09-18 17:25 · 3DNews (outlet profile)
«Воровство беспрецедентных масштабов»: OpenAI и Microsoft признали, что ИИ построен на краже данных и неумолимо разрушает интернет. Судя по рассекреченным недавно документам, руководители Microsoft и OpenAI осознавали,…
2026-09-18 17:30 · Xataka (outlet profile)
"El mayor robo laboral de la historia": así describían en Microsoft el uso de artículos de prensa para entrenar IA. A finales de 2023, el New York Times demandó a OpenAI y Microsoft acusándolas de usar sus artículos par…
2026-09-18 18:23 · Folha de S.Paulo (outlet profile)
Funcionários da Microsoft e da OpenAI temem que IA cometa 'maior roubo de trabalho da história'. Documentos judiciais tornados públicos recentemente mostram uma preocupação considerável dentro da Microsoft e de sua parc…
2026-09-18 18:35 · UOL (outlet profile)
Funcionários da Microsoft e da OpenAI temem que IA cometa 'maior roubo de trabalho da história'. Documentos judiciais tornados públicos recentemente mostram uma preocupação considerável dentro da Microsoft e de sua parc…

Factual core

The New York Times accused OpenAI and Microsoft of 'stealing' articles for AI training.
A Microsoft executive called AI scraping the 'largest theft of labor in human history'.
Internal documents from the lawsuit reveal the Microsoft executive's statement

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