In late October 2024, News Corp filed legal action against Perplexity AI, a well-known AI-powered search engine. This action, while part of a string of similar cases requesting recognition or payment for data utilized by AI developers, stands out for its significance. It focuses on a vital issue: the future of AI search tools, which have the potential to revolutionize how we traverse the internet.
Unlike typical search engines, AI search engines (such as Perplexity, Google’s Gemini, and OpenAI’s SearchGPT) gather information from many websites, summarize it, and give a succinct summary with links to the original sources. These technologies seek to better comprehend customer inquiries and provide a quicker solution. However, this fast summary technique offers a risk to content providers that rely on user visits to generate revenue through advertisements, subscriptions, and sales. If AI search engines become the primary gateway to the internet, website traffic may drop, reducing creator revenue and endangering the present digital economy.
Existing legislation may not offer suitable remedies. Governments are already identifying holes in legal frameworks and investigating novel approaches to managing value exchange on the web. The AI sector has a limited time to fix this issue before governments impose potentially restrictive restrictions that benefit just large corporations or impede the free flow of knowledge.
Complexity of Copyright in AI Search News Corp claims that utilizing its information in AI-generated summaries without remuneration violates copyright. This viewpoint is consistent with that of The New York Times, which has likewise cautioned Perplexity AI about inappropriate material use. While copyright law protects creative work, it does not cover factual data or the effort that goes into producing journalistic or scholarly content. Courts in the United States have consistently favored technology corporations when they exploit information for “transformative” purposes. If News Corp wins, it might create a precedent for not only Perplexity AI, but also the wider usage of data-rich material, thereby limiting access to varied, high-quality information.
Government Actions and Potential Regulations If present laws fail to address these challenges, governments may seek new restrictions modeled after those observed in Australia and Canada and suggested in US legislative initiatives. These regulations require big platforms to pay for utilizing news information in snippets or summaries. While these regulations attempt to help media organizations, they frequently benefit only established enterprises and may limit the free sharing of links online. Such changes prioritize traditional media while ignoring independent producers who contribute to online content via blogs, videos, and other means.
Challenges and Industry Solutions. Mandatory bargaining legislation may become an appealing solution if AI search continues to replace online traffic with summary responses. Unlike traditional search engines, AI search may drastically minimize the requirement for users to access original sources, hence affecting traffic and revenues. The technology industry has the opportunity to proactively develop equitable pay arrangements for content providers. Some platforms, such as YouTube and TikTok, currently pay out income to content producers, implying that similar methods may be used for AI search engines.
If AI corporations do not design fair systems, they risk forcing governments to impose ineffective laws. Current private agreements between AI firms and big content platforms exclude smaller artists and may result in monopolistic behaviors that stifle future rivals.
Looking forward The internet’s existing dependence on ad income might already be problematic, leading to privacy concerns and the propagation of low-quality material. Supporting high-quality content may necessitate new tactics beyond advertising. Nonetheless, AI’s progress presents a chance to build a more egalitarian digital economy in which creators are appropriately compensated for their efforts. If the AI sector fails to respond, governments are ready to intervene with their legislation.
Source: MIT Technology Review, “AI search could break the web” by Benjamin Brooks, October 31, 2024. You can check out the full article here.
I’m Voss Xolani, and I’m deeply passionate about exploring AI software and tools. From cutting-edge machine learning platforms to powerful automation systems, I’m always on the lookout for the latest innovations that push the boundaries of what AI can do. I love experimenting with new AI tools, discovering how they can improve efficiency and open up new possibilities. With a keen eye for software that’s shaping the future, I’m excited to share with you the tools that are transforming industries and everyday life.