Microsoft Exec Called AI Scraping the Largest Theft of Labour in Human History
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Microsoft Exec Called AI Scraping the Largest Theft of Labour in Human History
A new batch of unredacted court filings has surfaced a quote that is difficult to look away from. A Microsoft executive, in internal communications now part of ongoing litigation, described AI training data scraping as the largest theft of labour in human history. The quote is striking not because it is an unfamiliar argument, writers, artists, and coders have been making versions of it for years, but because of who is saying it, and in what context.
Key Takeaways
- Unredacted court filings reveal a Microsoft executive called AI training data scraping the largest theft of labour in human history
- Microsoft is one of OpenAI's largest investors and has integrated generative AI across its product suite
- Major AI companies including OpenAI and Google have begun striking licensing deals with publishers, but individual creators have no equivalent recourse
- EU regulators have been more aggressive than US counterparts in examining AI training data practices under the AI Act
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