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WordPress and Tumblr Plan to Sell User Content to AI Companies

Feb 27, 2024 - gizmodo.com
Automattic, the parent company of WordPress and Tumblr, is reportedly in discussions to sell content from its platforms to AI companies like MidJourney and OpenAI for training purposes. However, the move has sparked controversy within the company, as some of the content being scraped includes private content and advertising content not owned by Automattic. The company plans to introduce a new setting that allows users to opt out of training AI systems, but it is unclear whether this setting will be default for most users.

The company's plans have been met with internal resistance, with a product manager even removing his own photos from Tumblr to prevent them from being used in AI training. Major publishers have also raised concerns, with some filing lawsuits, alleging that the data used to train these systems was either pirated or doesn't constitute "fair use" under existing copyright laws. Automattic has responded by stating that they are following industry best practices and are committed to giving users control over their content.

Key takeaways:

  • Automattic, the parent company of WordPress and Tumblr, is reportedly in talks to sell content from its platforms to AI companies like MidJourney and OpenAI for training purposes.
  • There has been internal conflict within Automattic as some of the content being scraped for the AI companies included private content and advertising content not owned by Automattic.
  • Automattic plans to introduce a new setting that will let users opt out of training AI systems, but it’s not clear whether the setting will be toggled on or off by default for most users.
  • In response to the controversy, Automattic has issued a statement emphasizing their commitment to user choice and control, and promising that their partnerships will respect all opt-out settings.
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