The New York Times has issued a cease and desist letter to the AI search engine startup, Perplexity, demanding that the company stop using its content without permission. The prestigious publication, which is currently in legal battles against OpenAI and Microsoft for allegedly training models on its content unlawfully, claims Perplexity has also been engaging in similar practices. This issue highlights ongoing concerns over the lack of consent in the use of media content for AI model training. The Times has made this clear in its robots.txt file, which restricts several AI crawlers, including that of Perplexity, from indexing its URLs.

In response, Sarah Platnick, a spokesperson for Perplexity, has articulated that the company does not scrape content for the purpose of AI training. She further argued that factual information on the internet does not carry copyright over individual facts, positing that what Perplexity does is essentially index web pages to present factual content. The company intends to address The New York Times' notice by the deadline set for October 30th.

Earlier this year, Perplexity sought to establish more amicable relationships with publishers following rounds of tension over content usage. The company extended offers of ad revenue and free subscriptions to several partners, attempting to create a collaborative environment. CEO Aravind Srinivas has expressed that the company does not wish to become an adversary to any publication, stressing their willingness to engage constructively with all publishers, including The New York Times.

This situation underscores a broader challenge within the tech industry: how to balance innovative AI advancements with respect to intellectual property rights. As AI systems continue to evolve, establishing clear guidelines and mutual agreements between tech firms and content producers will be crucial in fostering a sustainable and legally compliant ecosystem.