Perplexity AI offers to replace striking New York Times workers

The chief executive officer (CEO) of Perplexity AI offered the American daily The New York Times (NOW) to provide its artificial intelligence (AI) services on this election day in order to compensate for the absence of the daily’s technical team, on strike since Monday.

Since Monday, the NYT Tech Guild has set up picket lines in front of the offices of the New York media outlet.

This team, responsible in particular for providing software support and data analysis, has been demanding for months an annual salary increase of 2.5% and the maintenance of the teleworking agreement requiring two days in person.

Members of the NYT Tech Guild are also responsible for ensuring that the site’s infrastructure NOW can withstand significant traffic peaks on a day like a US election.

If several Internet users have shown their solidarity by, for example, suspending their daily crossword or game session Wordlethe CEO of Perplexity AI, instead offered to help the press bosses.

In a press release sent to the newsroom of the New York daily and made public on NOW, AG Sulzberger, criticized the actions of the NYT Tech Guild.

He notably stated that hundreds of millions of people depend on the journalism of Times election day [et qu’il] is disturbing that the Tech Guild is trying to block this public service at such an important time for the country.

It was in response to this publication on X that Aravind Srinivas offered his services. Hey, AG Sulzberger @nytimes, sorry to see this. Perplexity AI is ready to help make sure your essential coverage is available to everyone during the election. Send me a private message anytime herehe wrote.

Break the strike

Since 2016, the website NOW stands out in its coverage of election nights by notably offering a live needle which allows you to see which way the vote is leaning, mentions Roland-Yves Carignan, professor at the Media School of the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM).

The NOW announced that they hope to be able to present their needle, but that due to the strike, they may not be able to. It is in this context that Perplexity made an offerhe says.

An offer that resembles the notion of a strikebreakerhe emphasizes.

We are not in a case where it is AI which directly replaces employees, we are in AI which gives a lot of weight to an employer in a balance of power.

In response to a publication of an article by the specialist website TechCrunch on X, the CEO of Perplexity defended himself as follows: It would be damaging for the country if the site of the New York Times or broken down on election day. Everyone should help.

To be clear, the offer was not to replace journalists or engineers withIAbut to provide technical assistance on a busy dayhe added.

However, the staff of the NYT Tech Guild is responsible in particular for this service.

We find ourselves in a situation where perhaps theIA could play the role of strikebreaker and that we will have to change our laws to avoid this type of thingunderlines Roland-Yves Carignan.

An olive branch?

Remember that the NOW is experiencing numerous setbacks with companies providing artificial intelligence services, including Perplexity AI. In mid-October, the media put the company on notice, asking it to immediately stop using its content to train its advertising models.IA.

Car l’IA by Perplexity is first and foremost a conversational search engine, which provides answers to questions askedrecalls Roland-Yves Carignan.

Perplexity needs reliable content to work. She therefore finds herself using the contents of the NOW without paying.

Looks like Perplexity is extending an olive branchhe illustrates.

However, this situation lifts the veil on a new reality to which companies and staff risk being increasingly exposed, due to advances in IA on the labor market. Are we going to have the courage to change our laws? [pour éviter ces situations]? raises the professor.