Microsoft exec calls AI training 'the largest theft of labor in human history'

A Microsoft director testified in depositions for the New York Times lawsuit that training AI on copyrighted work without permission constitutes "the largest theft of labor in human history." The admission came during legal proceedings where the Times sued Microsoft and OpenAI for copyright infringement related to AI training data.

This is a Microsoft employee basically agreeing with the plaintiff's core argument—that using creative work without permission or payment to train AI systems is a form of theft. The phrase "largest theft in human history" is a dramatic way to describe it, but the substance of the admission matters: a company building AI systems acknowledged that the foundational training approach violates copyright in a massive way. The Times will likely use this testimony to argue that the companies knew what they were doing and did it anyway.