OpenAI and Microsoft knew AI scraping would start a 'doom loop' for the web

September 19, 2026 at 02:07 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Unsealed court documents in the New York Times case against OpenAI and Microsoft show the companies knew their AI data scraping would damage the web. Internal communications describe the practice as the 'largest theft of labor in human history' and a 'doom loop' that would hurt both models and the web. Microsoft has distanced itself from the comments, saying they reflect one employee's individual perspective.

Key Facts

Microsoft's Director of Applied Science Brent Hecht called ChatGPT and Copilot's data harvesting the 'largest theft of labor in human history'.
An internal Microsoft document said the company's AI content strategy started a 'doom loop' that would hurt model performance and the entire web.
Microsoft spokesperson Alex Haurek said Hecht's comments reflect one employee's individual perspective and do not represent the company's views.
Satya Nadella admitted chatbots have replaced search and removed the need to go straight to the source for information.

Internal Warnings

The New York Times' filing quotes Microsoft's Director of Applied Science Brent Hecht and OpenAI's Head of ChatGPT as showing the companies knew they posed an 'existential threat' to publishers. Hecht called ChatGPT and Copilot's harvesting of data the 'largest theft of labor in human history' and said Microsoft's defense makes a 'complete mockery of the idea of fair use.' An internal Microsoft document stated, 'Our AI content strategy has started a doom loop that will hurt the performance of our models and the entire web at the same time.' The document added that it is highly unusual for an end-product to threaten the economic foundations of its essential suppliers.

Microsoft's Response

Microsoft spokesperson Alex Haurek told The Verge that Hecht's comments 'reflect one employee's individual perspective, are not a legal analysis, and do not represent the company's views.' In a separate court filing, Jordan Usdan, GM for Data Strategy and Ops at Microsoft AI, characterized Hecht's role as adversarial. Usdan said Hecht holds divergent, academic, and forward-looking views about how data ecosystems for AI should operate and is employed to bring asymmetrical, futuristic, and academic points of view. Usdan added that Hecht is not someone who speaks for Microsoft specifically as to his theoretical views on AI's potential effect on content creators.

Executive Admissions

Satya Nadella admitted that chatbots have basically replaced search and removed the need to go straight to the source for info. OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman expressed interest in the 'gazillions' of dollars he could potentially make through commercial AI. The 92-page document includes statements from a variety of figures, including Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, and other OpenAI employees.