The chief executive of Yahoo has sounded the alarm over the rise of artificial intelligence, warning that AI’s use of copyrighted content could wipe out publishers unless tech companies change course.
Jim Lanzone, who runs the American online publishing giant, said Yahoo was one of the most heavily “pilfered” sources of material used to train AI models. He criticised the way AI systems scrape articles without permission, only to repackage them for users without linking back to the source.
“Unlike search, where the business model was an understood agreement – the engine aggregates and then sends traffic downstream to the publisher – the AI model takes content without consent. It’s like signing away your future existence,” Lanzone told reporters.
AI companies rely on vast quantities of data, including books, images and journalism, much of which is protected by copyright. Media groups argue this is an unauthorised takeover of their work that threatens their revenue. Several lawsuits are under way, including a high-profile case by The New York Times against OpenAI.
Some firms, including Reddit and Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp, have signed licensing deals with AI developers. But Lanzone said these agreements were damage control rather than genuine partnerships: “The first choice for any publisher would have been for their content not to be taken in the first place.”
Yahoo, which remains one of the top five most-visited websites in the world, takes stories from agencies like Reuters and AP alongside its own journalism. Its model relies heavily on ad revenue driven by traffic – which Lanzone said is being eroded by AI “short-circuiting” the link between readers and publishers.
Since being taken private by Apollo Global Management in a $5bn deal in 2021, Yahoo has tried to strengthen its role as a major aggregator and content provider. Lanzone, who previously ran Tinder and CBS Interactive, said the company would remain “pro-publisher and pro-open web”.
The Yahoo boss also hinted that the company is preparing to unveil its own take on the future of online search. “We’ll continue to shine a light on the need for sustainable traffic for the open web,” he said. “Yahoo has always been about partnerships with publishers. Our future depends on theirs.”