Meta to News Companies: Help Us Train Our AI

Core Viewpoint - Meta is engaging in discussions with media companies to license their articles for use in its AI tools, marking a significant shift in its approach to news content [2][3]. Group 1: Meta's Strategy Shift - Meta has held talks with media companies such as Axel Springer, Fox Corp, and News Corp regarding licensing agreements for their articles [2]. - This represents a change for Meta, which has previously deprioritized news content and had inconsistent relationships with publishers, including a decision in 2022 to stop paying publishers for news [3]. - The reduction in news priority has led to a decline in Facebook traffic for many publishers, although some have recently reported an uptick in traffic [3][4]. Group 2: Industry Context - Google's reported initiative to recruit news organizations for an AI-related licensing project indicates a broader trend in the industry, with Google aiming to pilot a project with around 20 national news organizations [5]. - AI search firm Perplexity has allocated $42.5 million for a revenue-sharing program to compensate publishers when their content is utilized by its AI tools, highlighting the ongoing discussions about fair compensation for content used in AI [6]. - Legal actions have been taken by media companies against AI firms for copyright infringement, illustrating the tensions between content creators and AI technology developers [6].