Reddit Content Comes to ChatGPT, Stocks Immediately Rise

The social platform Reddit announced this week a collaboration with OpenAI that will allow ChatGPT access to content from the online forum to train the chatbot while Reddit will simultaneously gain a new artificial intelligence tool in its offering. This mutual collaboration pertains to both the chatbot and future products of the American startup, and it is certainly interesting that Reddit users will now be able to utilize AI features and tools, while OpenAI will also become a partner in advertising on the social platform. All of this resulted in a 15 percent increase in Reddit’s stock.

This is the latest in a series of agreements between OpenAI and digital platforms to enhance its product and become a high-quality AI tool. OpenAI’s Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap stated that he is very pleased with the partnership with Reddit and that the goal is to further improve ChatGPT, as reported by Hina.

The collaboration agreement between these two companies was announced at a time of growing concern among artists, writers, and other copyright holders regarding the use of their material in training and developing artificial intelligence and its models. On Thursday, Sony Music sent letters to major tech companies, including OpenAI, seeking information on whether the songs of their artists were used to develop AI tools and models. Legal proceedings have also been initiated in the U.S. regarding whether the development of AI models on such content constitutes a violation of copyright law. Regardless, tech companies now want to form partnerships with publishers to legally use their content while simultaneously advancing the development of artificial intelligence.

It is worth mentioning that the financial terms of this collaboration have not been disclosed, but the jump in Reddit’s stock would mean a significant gain for Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, who has invested tens of millions of dollars in several social networks. Altman, who stated that he does not have an ownership stake in OpenAI, held nearly ten percent of Reddit’s shares before its listing on the stock exchange in March, and according to OpenAI, he did not negotiate with Reddit.

The agreement will also be beneficial for Reddit’s monetization efforts, which have so far primarily focused on building an advertising-based business model. In its presentation before going public, Reddit representatives told investors that they hope for high profits from selling their data to third parties, namely tech companies developing artificial intelligence. Recall that they have already signed contracts with Google and Cision.

Furthermore, OpenAI has entered into a series of agreements with publishers this year, including Financial Times, U.S. Associated Press, German Axel Springer, French Le Monde, and Spanish Prisa Media. These agreements provide the company access to content that can in turn be used for the development and launch of generative artificial intelligence.

While some media brands have partnered with OpenAI, others have resisted. The New York Times and other publishers have instead sued OpenAI and Microsoft for collecting their articles. In December, the NYT filed a lawsuit seeking billions of dollars in damages from the two companies for ‘profiting from mass copyright infringement, commercial exploitation, and abuse of The Times’ intellectual property.’ However, OpenAI has denied all of this.

Last month, eight regional U.S. newspapers, including New York Daily News and Chicago Tribune, also sued tech companies for copyright infringement. On the other hand, social networks are increasingly using data as a valuable currency in negotiations with tech companies, blocking small developers’ access to their data while simultaneously striking large deals with leading players in the artificial intelligence market.