News Corp CEO Robert Thomson says AI firms arent paying enough for content: fundamental miscalculation

News Corp CEO Robert Thomson blasted AI companies for spending billions on super chips and data centers while shortchanging newsrooms and other content creators — calling it a “fundamental miscalculation.”Speaking Tuesday at The Times Tech Summit in London, Thomson said AI businesses need to invest more in “editorial content,” calling it “the essence of AI.”“If you’re not spending billions of dollars on the content, but you are spending billions of dollars on the infrastructure, then you’re making a fundamental miscalculation about the value of what you’re doing,” said Thomson.News Corp is the parent company of The Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London and HarperCollins.Thomson explained that AI businesses “need news to remain and keep the AI engines fresh.And so that immediacy that news organizations can provide is essential to them.”Under Thomson’s leadership, News Corp has adopted a “woo or sue” approach to the AI industry — cutting licensing deals with firms that respect copyrights while taking those that don’t to court.Last year, News Corp struck a licensing agreement with ChatGPT maker OpenAI that was valued at more than $250 million over five years.Such deals set a precedent for future ties between media organizations and AI companies, according to Thomson.“We feel a sense of social responsibility, as well as a responsibility to our shareholders,” he said.

“And once you start to create precedents, you make it easier for us, but you also make it easier for other companies.”When deals don’t happen, litigation has the benefit of creating accountability, Thomson said.“It’s more effective if you win, obviously.But actually, the process of disclosure is very important,” he stated.

“Once there’s more transparency, I think there’s more accountability.”The CEO also urged news organizations to take a proactive approach to asserting their rights.“Ultimately, it’s up to every news organizati...