STATEMENT from The NewsGuild of New York-represented workers at Condé Nast:

On Tuesday, we learned that Condé Nast had entered into a multi-year partnership with OpenAI. The email, from CEO Roger Lynch, offered very few details other than to assert that OpenAI has "been transparent and willing to productively work with publishers like us so that the public can receive reliable information and news through their platforms."

Transparency on how this deal will affect our work — across all the brands we represent – is precisely what we demand, especially given the widespread industry concern about generative AI and OpenAI’s business practices. Some publishers are suing OpenAI for allegedly training its tools on news content without permission or compensation. "No one wants to help train the tools spreading misinformation and degrading the skills many of us spent decades honing,” a writer for a Condé outlet told WIRED as news of the deal broke Tuesday. 

We have also seen our sibling unions represented by The NewsGuild of New York demanding answers after learning about opaque deals between their employers and the technology company. OpenAI’s tools have generated false links to nonexistent news stories. Last summer, more than 4,000 writers signed a letter to the CEOs of OpenAI and other tech companies, accusing them of exploiting writers in their building of chatbots.

Our work is the value behind all of Condé Nast brands and we deserve better than a vague email on such an important issue. We are demanding that Lynch and management hold a town hall to answer our questions about this deal.

All of our members deserve more transparency about exactly how our work will reach our audiences.