Report: “Microsoft Offers Authors $5,000 to Train AI On Their Books”

From The Decoder:

Microsoft is taking a new approach to using copyrighted books for AI training by offering payment to HarperCollins authors. The deal sheds light on how the industry values creative work in the AI era.

The company has proposed a licensing agreement with publisher HarperCollins that would pay $5,000 per book for AI training rights. Authors would receive half of that amount, or $2,500 per book, according to the publisher.

Read the Complete Article

See Also: How Much Should Authors Get Paid to License Books to AI? (via Bloomberg)

Microsoft has pursued “an incredible strategy,” says Brown University economics professor Emily Oster. “They’re trying to establish the idea that the rights to train on books are worth $5,000. You can’t do that by going to the latest bestseller. So you do that by going to the backlist — to people who aren’t collecting royalties — and telling them, ‘Look, would you like some free money?’”

Filed under: News, Publishing