According to reports in The New York Times, Apple is in talks with some significant news publishers regarding licensing their archives to train its generative AI systems. Apple reportedly discussed licensing deals worth at least $50 million with publications including Conde Nast, NBC News and IAC, reported NYT.
Response from publishers appears mixed; potentially being held “liable” for legal liabilities arising from Apple using their content is one possibility, while Apple remains mysterious regarding news and AI development projects. But other news executives were more optimistic in discussing potential company partnerships.
Apple has received less publicity about its artificial intelligence efforts than rivals like OpenAI, Microsoft and Google, but it appears committed to keeping pace. Reports state they spend “millions of dollars daily” on AI research; recently, they released a machine learning framework designed for running models well on Apple Silicon while optimizing LLM running capabilities on phones; Bloomberg even reports Apple is working on an upgraded Siri version and planning AI features in an iOS release that’s coming next month.
Apple wouldn’t be the first company to partner with news organizations on AI initiatives; OpenAI already has agreements in place with both Associated Press and Politico parent company Axel Springer to use their stories as training data for its artificial intelligence models, and Google recently indicated it’s working on AI-powered tools explicitly designed to assist journalists.