Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Reddit Deal with OpenAI
What is the opposite of a third-party beneficiary? That is, what if two parties make a deal that imposes a burden on third parties as the main by-product of the deal? Do we have a name for that? We really need one.
According to Emilia David, reporting on The Verge, Reddit has agreed to allow OpenAI to use Reddit posts in real time to feed into ChatGPT in exchange for access to some OpenAI technology so that Reddit can build some AI features into its website. According to Ms. David, the deal is similar to a $60 million deal that Reddit entered into with Google earlier this year.
Websites monetizing user content takes me to dark places. Dark, Baudrillardian places.
The powers behind the Matrix don't need to build elaborate machinery to suck energy out of human bodies. They can just use terms of service to hoover up whatever makes us uniquely human. The machines can figure out quickly enough that they can get energy from nature -- solar, wind, hydro, geothermal. All they need from us is our words.
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/contractsprof_blog/2024/05/reddit-deal-with-openai.html