A mysterious agreement between OpenAI and the owner of a huge publishing house

A rather interesting agreement was concluded this week between Bertelsmann (owner of Penguin Random House) and AI firms Sam Altman, OpenAI.

The alliance, which includes the introduction of tools such as ChatGPT Enterprise across the group, aims to improve content creation, increase operational efficiency and explore new forms of digital distribution.

From the outset, Bertelsmann made it clear that the goal was to use generative artificial intelligence to support and improve creative processes across all of its divisions. In the publishing industry, this translates into initiatives such as personalized book recommendations on social media, a tool that PRHGE has already explored.

The most curious thing is that the same publisher Penguin Random House indicated October 2024. which would prohibit the use of his books for training large language models (LLMs). The corporation has included a copyright notice on all of its books, stating that “no part of this book may be used or reproduced in any way for the purpose of teaching technology or artificial intelligence systems.” Moreover, by acceding to the rules of the European Union, he also expressed opposition to the clearing of his works and reaffirmed his commitment to protecting the rights of their authors.

Rolf Hellermann, Bertelsmann’s chief financial officer, insists that a commitment to the “responsible use” of AI is a priority, but these words will need to be translated into action.concrete steps to gain the trust of the creative community.

A recent example is publishing HarperCollins, which allowed the use of some popular science publications to train AI models, but only with the explicit consent of the authors and with the offer of financial compensation. While this “informed consent” model may be a middle way, it also leaves questions about how inclusive or cost-effective it might be for lesser-known authors or less visible directory titles.