Perplexity AI, known for 'stealing' content from media houses, offers ...
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The gesture from Perplexity’s CEO Aravind Srinivas raised eyebrows, considering the company’s troubled history with media organisations, including the Times itself. Image Credit: Perplexity AI
On the eve of Election Day, a strike by tech workers at The New York Times has stirred unexpected offers of assistance. The workers, members of the Times Tech Guild, walked out in protest over pay and job protections, launching a strike that threatened to disrupt election coverage.
As they picketed outside the Times building, Aravind Srinivas, CEO of the AI search engine Perplexity, publicly offered to help ensure the publication’s coverage continued during the strike. His offer, posted on social media, invited The New York Times chairman AG Sulzberger to reach out for support.
Srinivas’s offer came in response to Sulzberger’s internal communication, which indicated the strike could extend through election coverage. The gesture from Perplexity’s CEO raised eyebrows, considering the company’s troubled history with media organisations, including the Times itself.
Perplexity has been criticised for using content from news outlets without permission, drawing accusations of copyright infringement. Earlier this year, Forbes discovered Perplexity was incorporating original investigative content without proper credit, and in October, The New York Times issued a cease-and-desist letter over the startup’s unauthorised use of its articles.
The company has also faced legal action from Dow Jones and the New York Post over “massive” copyright violations.
Perplexity’s AI-powered search engine operates by scraping web content to generate responses, a practice that has sparked ethical debates. Many media outlets argue that such content scraping exploits their work without licensing agreements or compensation.
This practice not only poses legal risks but also impacts the sustainability of journalism, as it allows AI companies to profit from work they did not produce.
The strike at the Times brings these issues into sharper focus, with the NewsGuild of NY accusing management of violating labour laws and urging readers to honour the digital picket line by avoiding Times-owned games like Wordle.
The Times Tech Guild, responsible for supporting election coverage, cited the company’s return-to-office mandates and intimidation tactics as reasons for their walkout. The NewsGuild has filed unfair labour practice charges against the Times, alleging multiple breaches, including coercive questioning about strike participation.
Srinivas’s public outreach may be an attempt to showcase Perplexity as a potential solution provider, but it remains fraught with irony given the company’s legal troubles. Critics see it as a tone-deaf move that underscores the growing tension between traditional journalism and AI companies profiting from their content.
The incident serves as a reminder of the larger conversation surrounding intellectual property rights and the ethical use of content in an era increasingly dominated by AI technology. As AI-driven platforms continue to grow, establishing regulations that balance innovation with respect for content creators becomes ever more essential.
