OpenAI and Microsoft knew they were starting a ‘doom loop’ for the web

Newly unsealed documents in The New York Times’ lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft show internal warnings that AI training practices could harm the web’s economic model. The filings include stark characterizations of data scraping as the “largest theft of labor” and a challenge to fair use, though Microsoft has sought to distance itself from some remarks.

The documents could strengthen publishers’ arguments that AI companies understood the potential damage to content ecosystems while building their models. More broadly, the case highlights growing pressure to define AI fair use and whether web-scale training requires licensing, compensation, or new legal frameworks.