[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-microsoft-scientist-calls-ai-training-an-unprecedented-theft":10,"sections":35},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":24,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":25,"tags":26,"sources":30,"feedback":34,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":34,"total_tokens":34},7145,"microsoft-scientist-calls-ai-training-an-unprecedented-theft","Microsoft scientist calls AI training an unprecedented theft","An unsealed court brief quotes a Microsoft director calling AI model training the largest theft of labor in history, in his own words.","A senior Microsoft scientist's private assessment of AI training just became evidence in a live legal fight.\n\nA 92-page brief unsealed Thursday opens by quoting Dr Brent Hecht, Microsoft's Director of Applied Science, twice. In one document, Hecht wrote that people would come to see large models hoovering up their work as 'an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions.' In another, he called it perhaps 'the largest theft of labor' in history. The filing surfaced in litigation touching on OpenAI's AI training practices, and its authors clearly chose Hecht's words because he works inside the industry, not against it.\n\nThat inside-the-tent detail is what makes this notable. Publishers and authors have made similar arguments for years, and companies have mostly brushed them off as sour grapes from people whose business model AI disrupts. A researcher paid by Microsoft using the word 'theft' is a much harder quote to dismiss in front of a judge or jury.\n\nTech companies have spent years arguing that scraping the internet for training data is ordinary, protected fair use. That argument gets shakier when the people building the models keep describing it like a crime.","[\"ai\",\"copyright\",\"microsoft\",\"openai\"]","2026-09-21T14:24:55.000Z","2026-09-21T14:48:13.548Z","2026-09-21T14:48:23.706Z","published",null,[],"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.xyz.onl\u002Farticle-images\u002Fmicrosoft-scientist-calls-ai-training-an-unprecedented-theft.webp","ai",[25,27,28,29],"copyright","microsoft","openai",[31],{"name":32,"url":33},"The Next Web","https:\u002F\u002Fthenextweb.com\u002Fnews\u002Fmicrosoft-theft-of-labor-doom-loop-unsealed-brief-openai",0,{"sections":36},[37,40,45,50,55,60,65,70,75,80,85,90,95,100],{"name":38,"slug":25,"count":39,"latest_published_at":18},"AI",4178,{"name":41,"slug":42,"count":43,"latest_published_at":44},"Security","security",683,"2026-09-21T11:59:49.000Z",{"name":46,"slug":47,"count":48,"latest_published_at":49},"Policy","policy",353,"2026-09-21T13:30:33.000Z",{"name":51,"slug":52,"count":53,"latest_published_at":54},"Deals","deals",185,"2026-09-21T15:13:32.000Z",{"name":56,"slug":57,"count":58,"latest_published_at":59},"Hardware","hardware",161,"2026-09-21T14:30:00.000Z",{"name":61,"slug":62,"count":63,"latest_published_at":64},"Science","science",130,"2026-09-20T13:48:11.000Z",{"name":66,"slug":67,"count":68,"latest_published_at":69},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",99,"2026-09-09T17:27:33.000Z",{"name":71,"slug":72,"count":73,"latest_published_at":74},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",78,"2026-09-18T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":76,"slug":77,"count":78,"latest_published_at":79},"Software","software",75,"2026-09-10T20:41:21.000Z",{"name":81,"slug":82,"count":83,"latest_published_at":84},"Startups","startups",56,"2026-09-21T12:00:00.000Z",{"name":86,"slug":87,"count":88,"latest_published_at":89},"Gaming","gaming",43,"2026-09-10T12:18:06.000Z",{"name":91,"slug":92,"count":93,"latest_published_at":94},"General","general",42,"2026-09-18T22:35:10.000Z",{"name":96,"slug":97,"count":98,"latest_published_at":99},"Reviews","reviews",23,"2026-09-21T14:54:38.000Z",{"name":101,"slug":102,"count":103,"latest_published_at":104},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]