NYT Partners with Amazon for AI Content

Hey, so get this: The New York Times pretty much just said "yes" to Amazon using their stories for stuff like Alexa and other AI gadgets. This is a big deal because it's the first time the Times has made a deal like this just for that generative AI thing. The agreement goes on for a few years, and it means Amazon can dip into news articles from the Times, plus recipes from NYT Cooking and even stuff from The Athletic, which is the sports site. They didn't spill the beans on exactly how much money is changing hands, you know?

The Times folks said this means you might see little quick looks or small bits of their content on Amazon things, like when you ask Alexa something. And get this, it also helps Amazon train their main AI models, which is kind of important for them.

This whole thing is happening because AI companies are having a tough time making their big language models better. They've pretty much used up all the easy info that's out there. A bunch of them, like OpenAI, which is behind ChatGPT, are even getting sued because people are saying they used data without permission. Remember how the Times actually sued Microsoft and OpenAI in 2023? They said those companies used tons of their articles without asking to teach the chatbots how to answer questions. The Times even had to spend like, $4.4 million just on lawyer fees in the first few months of that lawsuit. Ouch, right?

OpenAI, the company run by Sam Altman, said back in 2023 that they were looking to team up with others to get access to data, both public and private, to train their AI models. Since then, they've made deals with places like the Financial Times, Business Insider (the company that owns it, Axel Springer), Le Monde and Prisa Media in France and Spain, and even Time magazine. And did you know Reuters licensed their stories to Meta Platforms, like the company that owns Facebook, just last year?

Some smart folks, like an analyst named Max Willens, think this deal with Amazon is a cool chance for the Times to show off their stuff to people who don't already subscribe. The Times just won four Pulitzer Prizes recently, which is a pretty big deal! Plus, they got more online subscribers than they thought they would in the first part of the year. Maybe it's because of their package deals or just because there was a lot of news happening that made more people want to read.