Google fingerprinting, Reddit to introduce paywalls, and more AI

New AI deals, new AI lawsuits, what tech French publishers are using, and Zitron going for the AI jugular.

Published: 16:24, 20 February 2025

Corbidge comments on... Google's disarray
Our favourite wordsmith takes a closer look at Google's shifting focus, and how it is impacting its fraying ties with publishers, upon whose backs a large chunk of its revenue lies.
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NYT's cautious warm up to AI
The New York Times has approved the use of various AI tools for its product and editorial teams, including those from OpenAI - despite their ongoing legal battle. Approval includes tools such as GitHub Copilot, Google's Vertex AI, and the NYT's own ChatExplorer and Echo, reports Semafor. Digging deeper hints at the sort of organisational approach to AI which serious media firms will have to consider: for example, NYT has banned certain AIs because the way they work would breach their commitment to protect sources or allow confidential information to be retrieved.
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AI firms at it again
It seems some AI firms still haven't got the memo about playing nice with publishers' IP. Cohere Inc. is being accused by the likes of Condé Nast and The Guardian of using publishers' work without permission, compensation, or attribution. With hallucinations as a bonus "feature," it's as if they are intent on learning the hard way – through costly litigation and potential damages.
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Lawsuits galore
Copyright lawsuits have exploded in recent years, leaving many struggling to keep track. This comprehensive list of 39 lawsuits will get you up to speed on who's suing who and the latest developments in each case.
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Not found
nybreaking.com has been taken down due to copyright infringement and lifting "vast amounts of UK national news media illegally". Constant content vigilance is required in this age.
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Sweet ad money
Google has lifted its ban on fingerprinting techniques for advertisers, effective February 16, 2025. Advertisers can now collect data points, such as a user's IP address, device language settings, and time zone, to create a unique 'fingerprint' to identify and track individuals and their browsing habits without their knowledge or consent. The move has, of course, drawn sharp criticism from the UK data regulator and privacy critics. More EU privacy conversations and regulations expected.
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AIs get dementia
Assume that AIs and chatbots get better over time? A recent study reveals that they can in fact experience their own form of cognitive decline, as indicated when tested on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment normally used on humans. No AI white coat and stethoscope just yet.
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Europe takes on OpenAI et al
Further disruption in the sclerotic world of Big AI: the EU is backing a 20-strong consortium to create the claimed first fully open and multilingual European LLM, OpenEuroLLM, free of some of the drawbacks of profit-focused non-EU rivals and playing by the bloc's regulatory book. It will do its best not to use stolen content - although LAION, one of its background datasets is not without accusations of thievery - so that's a plus, while remaining open source and an open book into how it all works. First task: come up with a catchier name that doesn't sound like a blocked drain.
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The Guardian partners with OpenAI
Almost 18 months after blocking OpenAI from scraping its content, The Guardian has become the latest publisher to ink a deal with the AI firm. The partnership allows ChatGPT to surface Guardian content while providing proper attribution to the source. Additionally, it also enables The Guardian to use ChatGPT Enterprise for its own product development.
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French publishers' tech stacks
From editorial tools to front-end frameworks, this wide-ranging report from Glide tech partners Poool gives an insider's look at the tools which drive the French publishing industry - and shed light on some of the shared problems media there face, which many of us will recognise.
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Unhappy Redditors
Reddit is sounding a lot more like a publisher, with CEO Steve Huffman confirming the platform's move towards monetisation and pay-to-read content sometime this year. Current subreddits won't be affected... for now.
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Shadow AI
Shadow AI - what is it, the potential pitfalls, and how to govern it to prevent misuses and data leaks in your organisation.
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Zitron untethered
Zitron lets rip about the AI hype train, dismantling the exaggerated claims and setting the record straight on the blown up value of AI.
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Matter of progress
Microsoft has claimed a new age of quantum computing is to be enabled as it heralds "topological qubits" which use a new form of matter to produce the kind of stability that has so far been a problem in the field.
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