OpenAI AI training called 'astonishing theft' in unsealed documents
Newly unsealed court documents show some Microsoft employees raised concerns over OpenAI’s use of copyrighted news articles to train AI models, with one executive calling it a potential “largest theft of labor in human history,” according to The New York Times.
- Tech
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 12:41 PM 18 September 2026
Microsoft employees raised concerns over OpenAI's use of millions of news articles and other copyrighted material to train its artificial intelligence models, with one internal document describing it as the potential "largest theft of labor in human history," according to The New York Times, which cited newly unsealed court documents.
The documents, unsealed Thursday, show Microsoft Director of Applied Science Brent Hecht describing the practice as an "astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions" and warning that it could create a "doom loop" that would ultimately undermine the quality of large language models.
Hecht also reportedly warned that OpenAI may have engaged in an "accidental cover-up" while attempting to identify content from The New York Times and other publishers that were involved in the lawsuit.
Microsoft spokesman Alex Haurek said Hecht's internal memos did not represent the company's views.
"Millions of people around the world will soon consider large models 'hoovering up' all their work to be an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions," the 2023 document said.