Amazon may launch a marketplace where media sites can sell their content to AI companies | TechCrunch

The AI ​​industry’s push for licensable content has been a messy affairfilled with lawsuits and allegations of copyright infringement. As tech companies look for legally secure sources of AI training data, Amazon is reportedly considering launching a marketplace where publishers can license their content directly to AI companies.

The information reported On Monday, the e-commerce giant met with publishing company executives and warned them of its plans to launch such a marketplace. Ahead of an AWS conference for publishers on Tuesday, Amazon circulated “slides mentioning a content marketplace,” the outlet wrote.

An Amazon spokesperson reached by TechCrunch did not deny the story, but did not directly address the potential marketplace, saying only: “Amazon has built long-term, innovative relationships with publishers across many areas of our business, including AWS, Retail, Advertising, AGI and Alexa. We are always innovating together to best serve our customers, but we have nothing specific to share on this topic at this time.”

Amazon wouldn’t be the first major tech company to take this route. Microsoft recently launched what it calls a Publisher Content Marketplace (PCM), which it says will give publishers “a new revenue stream” while providing AI systems with “scaled access to premium content.” Microsoft added that the PCM is designed to “provide publishers with a transparent economic framework for licensing their content.”

The move is a logical next step for the AI ​​industry, which has already tried to solve the legally murky problem of how copyrighted material ends up in AI training data by striking deals with major news outlets and media organizations. OpenAI, for example, has already signed content licensing partnerships including Associated Press, Vox Media, News Corp and The Atlantic.

These efforts have not been enough to stop the legal fallout. The battle over copyrighted material in AI algorithms has led to a monsoon of lawsuitsand the issue is still being worked out by the legal system. New regulatory strategies to tackle this problem are constantly presented.

Media publishers are also concerned about the ways in which AI summaries – especially those that Google surfaces in search results – could suppress traffic to their sites. One recent study claimed that such summaries have had a “devastating” impact on the number of users clicking through to websites. The Information’s report notes that publishers may see the new market-based content sharing system as a “more sustainable business” [than current, more limited licensing partnerships] that will increase revenues” as the use of AI continues to escalate.