AI poses serious threat to journalism’s future, New York Times publisher warns

The publisher of The New York Times, A.G. Sulzberger, has cautioned that artificial intelligence companies are increasingly endangering the future of journalism by using news content without fair compensation.

Speaking on Monday at the 77th World News Media Congress organised by the World Association of News Publishers in Marseille, France, Sulzberger stated that AI firms are benefiting from journalistic work while simultaneously weakening the very organisations that produce it.

He explained that the growing reliance on AI-powered chatbots and search engines is reducing web traffic to news sites, thereby cutting into the revenue that supports original reporting.

“The companies driving A.I., already among the richest and most powerful in human history, are consolidating their outsize control over our data and our attention,” Sulzberger said. He added that these firms are failing to embrace the responsibility that comes with such power ensuring public access to trustworthy news and information.

Sulzberger argued that AI companies frequently use copyrighted news content to train their systems and generate user responses, often without seeking permission. He warned that this trend could lead to a future with far fewer journalists capable of doing the expensive, difficult work of original reporting, such as investigating the powerful, covering important events, and providing context and analysis.

The New York Times publisher stressed that journalism remains essential to democracy and public accountability. He urged news organisations to defend their intellectual property rights and push for stronger legal protections.

He noted that AI models depend on four key elements: talent, computing infrastructure, energy, and data. While technology firms pay for engineers, data centres, and electricity, he said, they often resist paying for the content used to train their systems.

Sulzberger dismissed various justifications offered by AI companies for taking content without consent including claims of innovation, fair use, or even national security. He described the word “data” as a way to make creative work sound trivial.

He also called on media organisations to adopt AI responsibly while maintaining editorial oversight and continuing to invest in original reporting.

His remarks come as several news organisations, including The New York Times, are pursuing legal action against AI companies over the unauthorised use of copyrighted material in training artificial intelligence models.