News Corp in ‘advanced’ talks with AI firms on deals to license content, CEO says

News Corp, the media giant that owns The Post and the Wall Street Journal, is in “advanced” talks with major artificial intelligence firms to license the use of its news content, its top executive said.

CEO Robert Thomson — a vocal critic of AI firms that have effectively stolen content from news organizations to train chatbots that produce “rubbish” — said “crucial negotiations are at an advanced stage” as prominent media firms seek fair compensation for their copyrighted works.

Thomson said News Corp believes “courtship is preferable to courtrooms” to solve the hotly debated issue.

That’s in contrast to actions taken by firms such as the New York Times, which filed a sweeping federal copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI in December.

“We are wooing, not suing,” Thomson said during a Wednesday earnings call. “But let’s be clear: In my view, those who are repurposing our content without approval are stealing, they are undermining creativity. Counterfeiting is not creating, and the AI world is replete with content counterfeiters.”

When asked about the state of negotiations later in the earnings call, Thomson declined to comment on specifics — but reiterated that the talks were at “an advanced stage and we are dealing with willing partners.”