Microsoft exec called AI scraping 'largest theft of labour in human history' as court records expose OpenAI's 'doom loop' fears

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

ChatGPT chief Nick Turley warned in internal documents that AI products pose an "existential threat" to publishers and will become "more and more substitutive" as the technology improves.

Unsealed court documents in the New York Times copyright lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI reveal that Brent Hecht, Microsoft's director of applied science, privately called AI training "an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions" — and perhaps the "largest theft of labour in human history." ChatGPT chief Nick Turley separately acknowledged that AI products pose an "existential threat" to publishers and warned they "will get more and more substitutive as they get better." The disclosures emerged from a massive copyright case brought by the New York Times, Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News against the two tech giants.

Microsoft's own director warned the company had created a 'doom loop' that would destroy the very news sources its AI depends on.

OpenAI internal documents reportedly referred to ChatGPT as a "modern newsstand," suggesting executives knew the tool was replacing journalism rather than linking to it.

Microsoft told reporters Hecht's remarks "reflect one employee's individual perspective" and do not represent the company's position.

NY PostMicrosoft, OpenAI workers privately worried their work is ‘largest theft of labor in human history’iNewsSix things we learned from a legal fight over AI’s ‘doom loop’ of copyright theft Irish IndependentMicrosoft exec called AI the ‘largest theft of labour’ in history, court records show Tom's HardwareMicrosoft director called AI scraping ‘the largest theft of labor in human history,’ while OpenAI head brands ChatGPT an ‘existential threat’ to publishers — revelations come from legal briefs filed in NYT lawsuit - Tom's Hardware

Read today's full feed at The Newshound →