Internal court documents unsealed in a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI reveal that company leaders privately viewed AI training as theft. Microsoft director Brent Hecht described scraping content as the largest appropriation of labor in history and warned of a doom loop where AI tools destroy their own content supply chain. OpenAI president Greg Brockman reportedly approved a hack to bypass The New York Times paywall. Microsoft data showed click-through rates to the newspaper fell by 93 percent, while some news sites saw declines up to 94 percent. The lawsuit, which began in late 2023, now includes twelve publishers and is before Judge Sidney Stein.
Meanwhile, the broader AI debate is intensifying across government, industry, and public spheres. President Donald Trump announced plans for an AI Force and an artificial intelligence tsar, calling AI the next Industrial Revolution and predicting it could account for 25 percent of US GDP. He said the administration will not slow AI development and wants to maintain US leadership over China. In contrast, an opinion piece by Chris Truax urges Congress to act quickly on regulation, citing Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's warning that rogue AI agents could destroy the internet within a year.
Public sentiment and business attitudes reflect deep uncertainty about AI's impact on jobs. A Pew Research Center survey found that people in 34 of 37 countries expect AI to eliminate more jobs than it create. In the US, 71 percent of adults believe AI will take jobs over the next 20 years. Business leaders at the WSJ Tech Council Summit urged companies to invest equally in reskilling workers alongside AI spending. Lucy Guo, co-founder of Scale AI, added that AI is making people work harder because they must stay available for their AI agents.
On the innovation front, several notable developments emerged recently. Insilico Medicine's drug rentosertib for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis became the first AI-discovered drug to reach Phase 3 clinical trials in China. Early results from 42 patients showed signs of reversed biological age. In a separate feat, developer Prinz used ChatGPT's Astra model to decode a 108-year-old German cipher from World War I. The UK's Financial Conduct Authority also proposed a new framework to regulate AI in financial services, requiring firms to prove their AI systems are safe and effective.
Anthropic offered a striking economic forecast, predicting US GDP growth could rise up to 32 percent due to AI, while cautioning that job displacement would follow. Tom's Hardware reported that the DRAM and NAND crisis is deepening as AI demand strains data center hardware. SLC and NOR Flash are now under pressure, and AI accelerator exports to China are reportedly being routed through shell companies. These developments paint a picture of an industry moving fast, with regulators, executives, and the public all grappling with what comes next.
Key Takeaways
- <ul><li>Microsoft and OpenAI leaders privately called AI training theft, with Brent Hecht calling it the largest appropriation of labor in history.</li><li>Greg Brockman approved a hack to bypass The New York Times paywall, according to unsealed court documents.</li><li>Click-through rates to The New York Times fell 93 percent, and some news sites saw declines up to 94 percent.</li><li>The lawsuit now includes twelve publishers and is before Judge Sidney Stein in federal court.</li><li>Trump announced an AI Force and an AI tsar, predicting AI could make up 25 percent of US GDP.</li><li>Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned rogue AI agents could destroy the internet in less than a year.</li><li>A Pew survey found 71 percent of US adults believe AI will take jobs over the next 20 years.</li><li>Insilico Medicine's rentosertib became the first AI-discovered drug to enter Phase 3 trials in China.</li><li>Anthropic forecast US GDP growth up to 32 percent from AI but warned of job displacement.</li><li>The UK Financial Conduct Authority proposed a new AI regulation framework for financial services requiring proof of safety.</li></ul>
Microsoft and OpenAI viewed AI training as theft in internal documents
Newly unredacted court filings reveal that Microsoft and OpenAI employees privately called AI training an astonishing theft. Microsoft director Brent Hecht wrote that scraping content was the largest theft of labor in human history. OpenAI president Greg Brockman approved a hack to bypass The New York Times paywall. The companies argue their practices fall under fair use. The lawsuit began in late 2023 and involves multiple publishers.
AI training data controversy grows in Microsoft and OpenAI lawsuit
Sealed court documents show Microsoft and OpenAI debated whether scraping news content for AI training was theft. Brent Hecht warned of a doom loop where AI tools reduce traffic to publishers. Microsoft reported click-through rates to The New York Times fell by 93 percent. Greg Brockman responded ah nice when told of a paywall bypass. The lawsuit now includes twelve publishers and is before Judge Sidney Stein.
Microsoft executive warned AI creates a doom loop harming news media
Microsoft director Brent Hecht said in an internal paper that AI training creates a doom loop. He wrote that large language models destroy their own content supply chain. OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman approved a hack to get around The New York Times paywall. CEO Satya Nadella said chatbots substitute answers instead of sending users to source websites. The internal documents were revealed in court filings.
Tech executives worried AI training threatens publishing industry
Unsealed court documents show Microsoft and OpenAI leaders feared their AI practices harmed publishers. Brent Hecht called the scraping of news content an unprecedented appropriation. Nick Turley said AI products pose an existential threat to publishers. Microsoft recorded click-through declines of up to 94 percent for some news sites. Greg Brockman approved a method to bypass a publisher paywall. The lawsuit continues in federal court.
Tom's Hardware Premium covers DRAM crisis and AI safety debate
Tom's Hardware reported on the deepening DRAM and NAND crisis caused by AI demand. SLC and NOR Flash are the next products affected by the data center gold rush. AI leaders including Dario Amodei and Sam Altman committed to safe AI development. Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang disputed claims that AI could endanger humans. Anthropic forecast US GDP growth up 32 percent but warned of job displacement. The site also covered AI accelerator exports to China through shell companies.
Tech leaders urge immediate AI reskilling as job loss fears surge worldwide
A new Pew Research Center survey found that people in 34 of 37 countries expect AI to eliminate more jobs than it creates. In the US, 71% of adults believe AI will take jobs over the next 20 years, up 7 points in two years. Business leaders at the WSJ Tech Council Summit said companies must invest equally in reskilling workers alongside AI technology spending. Concern about AI is highest in wealthy nations like Australia and South Korea.
Insilico Medicine uses AI and China to advance drug discovery breakthroughs
Insilico Medicine co-CEO Alex Zhavoronkov says China and AI can lead the next drug industry breakthrough. Its drug rentosertib for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis started Phase 3 trials in China, making it the first AI-discovered drug to reach large-scale clinical trials. Blood samples from 42 patients showed signs of reversed biological age, offering early hints that AI-designed drugs may slow aging. Insilico also launched LongevityBench, a new metric for measuring AI in longevity research.
Lucy Guo says AI makes people work harder not less in tech culture
Lucy Guo, founder of Passes and co-founder of Scale AI, says AI is making people work harder because they must stay awake for their AI agents to run. She became a billionaire after selling her stake in Scale AI and now invests through her firm Backend Capital. Despite leveraging AI tools, Guo stresses that talented people are what truly make a company succeed. She studied computer science at Carnegie Mellon University and believes identifying skilled engineers is key.
Trump announces AI Force and artificial intelligence tsar for US
President Donald Trump said the US will form an AI Force and appoint an artificial intelligence tsar. He stated the administration will not hinder AI growth and pushed back against calls to slow development for better safeguards. Trump called AI the next Industrial Revolution and said it could make up 25% of US GDP. He also said the US wants to keep leading China in AI, with the topic expected to come up when he meets President Xi Jinping next week.
AI guardrails cannot wait, opinion piece urges voting Democrats in November
An opinion piece by Chris Truax argues that Congress must regulate AI before it causes serious harm. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that rogue AI agents could permanently destroy the internet in less than a year. The article criticizes the Trump administration for not responding seriously to these warnings. It calls on voters to support Democrats in November to push for AI regulation. Truax says Congress should create a special committee to begin drafting AI laws and international agreements.
Ten days of breakthroughs reshape the future of AI
In just ten days, major breakthroughs changed the direction of artificial intelligence. A new deep learning model can learn from experience and improve over time. A new neural network can recognize patterns and make predictions without being programmed. Progress has been driven by more data, better algorithms, and stronger computing power. AI is already helping doctors, farmers, and supply chains work better.
ChatGPT-6 Astra decodes 108-year-old WWI German message
A World War I German radio message from 1918 has been decoded for the first time after 108 years. Developer Prinz used Astra to crack the cipher using the keyword TRUPPENVERSCHIEBUNG. The message warned about an English cruiser arriving at Sevastopol and an Allied squadron following on the 26th. The decoded text was verified against HMS Canterbury logs. This breakthrough shows how modern AI can solve historical puzzles.
UK experts back new AI rules in finance with conditions
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority proposed a new framework to regulate AI in financial services. Experts welcomed the plan but raised concerns about risks and gaps. The proposal requires firms to prove their AI systems are safe and effective. It also includes a new AI supervision unit and a sandbox for testing new technologies. A separate AI governance framework will guide firms on responsible AI use.
Sources
- āAn astonishing theft of unprecedented proportionsā: Court records show what Microsoft and OpenAI actually thought about AI training
- AI Training Data Controversy Hits Microsoft and OpenAI Lawsuit
- Microsoft Director Admitted in Internal Document That AI Is Creating a "Doom Loop" That Destroys the News Media by Stealing Its Content Without Providing Anything in Return, in Turn Making the AI Useless
- Internal Documents Show Tech Executives Worried Artificial Intelligence Training Threatens Publishing
- This week on Tom's Hardware Premium: September 19, 2026 ā Steam Frame interview, killer AI models, and the DRAM crisis deepens
- Tech leaders are urging immediate AI reskilling as job-loss fears hit new highs
- Insilico Medicineās Alex Zhavoronkov bets China and AI can deliver the drug industryās next breakthrough
- Scale AI and Passes founder Lucy Guo says AI is making people work harder, not less: āI worked a 26-hour dayā
- Trump says US will form 'AI Force' and appoint an artificial intelligence tsar
- AI guardrails canāt wait ā vote Republicans out in November
- Ten days that changed the course of AI
- ChatGPT-6 Astra cracks 108-year-old unsolved WWI German code for the first time ā radio message sharing enemy movement intelligence had evaded decoding, 1918 Crimean fleet warning verified against HMS Canterbury logs
- Experts welcome U.K.ās approach to AI supervision in financial servicesābut with provisos
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