Apple Explores Multi-Million Dollar Deals with News Publishers for AI Training

Apple is reportedly in discussions with major news publishers, including Condé Nast and NBC News, to secure licenses for their news archives. The objective is to utilize this content to enhance the training of Apple's generative AI systems, as reported by The New York Times. The discussions involve potential "multiyear deals worth at least $50 million," with engagement from publications such as Condé Nast, NBC News, and IAC.

Responses from publishers vary, with concerns raised about potential legal liabilities stemming from Apple's utilization of their content. The New York Times notes that Apple has been somewhat "vague" about its plans for news and generative AI. Despite these uncertainties, some news executives reportedly express a more positive outlook regarding collaborating with Apple.

Requests for comments from Apple, Condé Nast, NBC News, and IAC have not been immediately addressed.

While Apple's recent strides in artificial intelligence may have garnered less attention than those of rivals like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google, the company is actively working to catch up. Reportedly investing "millions of dollars a day" in AI, Apple has released a machine learning framework optimized for Apple Silicon and is focused on enabling efficient execution of language models (LLMs) on mobile devices. Bloomberg has also reported on Apple's ongoing efforts to enhance Siri and introduce AI-focused features in the upcoming iOS release.

This potential collaboration with news organizations aligns with a broader trend in the tech industry, where entities like OpenAI and Google have previously partnered with news outlets like the Associated Press and Axel Springer, utilizing news stories to train their respective AI models. Google, in particular, has expressed its commitment to developing AI-powered tools to assist journalists.