I recently participated in a panel discussion on responsible AI frameworks at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The central question: How will AI impact the relationship between publishers, tech companies, and readers? What became clear is this: we're moving into an economic environment that requires more coordination between stakeholders, not less.
The more automated our systems become, the more human connection we need to make them work.
That might seem counterintuitive. We have all these AI agents doing work for us, right? Shouldn't that mean less human involvement? But the reality is exactly the opposite. AI needs to be trained on content, and licensing this content requires more engagement, more communication, and more relationship-building than ever before.
When content licensing becomes about purpose
The content licensing landscape has fundamentally changed. Platforms used to license access to written content. Now, AI content licensing isn't just about access. It's about defining purpose. What will you do with this content? How will you use it? For what application?
Tech companies that license content need to be very clear about their intentions. And they have to be good at listening to publisher concerns. This isn't optional; the technology itself demands it.
AI content licensing isn't just about access. It's about defining purpose. What will you do with this content? How will you use it? For what application?"
The new interdependence
AI makes publishers and tech platforms more dependent on each other than ever before. Many readers now experience content through an LLM, but that experience is also only as good as the content it can access.
Neither side can succeed alone. If you want the best possible user experience as a tech platform, you need relationships with the publishers producing the content. You might need specific metadata or editorial requests about what type of content would work best for your application. You need to communicate that to publishers.
Publishers need to listen, too. They have to become more like tech companies in some ways. They need to provide content in formats that can be ingested by an LLM to produce great user experiences. But to know what they're meant to do, publishers need more engaged relationships with tech companies.
It's that give and take, and the connection between people, that makes the tech possible.
"None of this works without trust. And right now, there's a trust deficit.
Building trust through commitment
None of this works without trust. And right now, there's a trust deficit. Many publishers feel that tech companies have taken content in questionable ways. That's a problematic start to any relationship.
But there are opportunities. We're working with tech platforms that recognize the importance of these relationships, not only because it's the right thing to do, but because it also makes the product better.
Take AskNews, for example. Their technology derives what it needs from content within 24 hours, produces a data model of the information, and promises not to keep the original expression on their servers beyond that time. For many publishers, that's meaningful. They're putting their money where their mouth is. That's the kind of innovation that can rebuild needed trust.
Technology isn't replacing the need for relationships. It's demanding better ones.
Making collaboration real
Here's the paradox: The more automated our systems become, the more human connection we need to make them work. Technology isn't replacing the need for relationships. It's demanding better ones.
At Newstex, we see ourselves as part of that network connecting publishers and platforms. We facilitate the communication that makes these relationships work better for everyone, especially for independent publishers who might not have direct access to tech companies.
The future of AI content licensing depends on our ability to listen to each other, understand each other's needs, and build the trust that makes real collaboration possible. That's not a technology problem. It's a human one.
About the author,
Michael Ellis
