Poe, an AI chatbot platform owned by Quora, is offering users downloadable HTML files of articles from paywalled journalistic outlets. By simply inputting the URL of the desired article, users can receive a detailed summary as well as a 1-MB file containing the entire captured article. This service has raised concerns about copyright infringement and the impact of AI on traditional business models in journalism and music.
Major publications such as The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Forbes, among others, have had their articles accessed and downloaded through Poe’s Assistant bot. While Quora disputes claims of copyright infringement, legal experts like James Grimmelmann of Cornell University argue that making copies of articles on their servers without permission violates copyright laws. This controversial use of AI technology highlights the ongoing challenges in protecting intellectual property rights in the digital age.
The issue was further compounded when a media executive confirmed unauthorized access to their publication’s articles by servers identifying themselves as Quora bots. Quora spokesperson, Autumn Besselman, defended the platform by stating that the file attachments on Poe are created at the direction of users and are akin to other cloud storage and web clipper services, thus falling within copyright law. However, the industry’s nonchalant attitude towards intellectual property law is raising questions about the consequences of AI-driven content aggregation services on journalism ethics and legality.