Why information platforms need content licensing

If you're on a platform that has advertising, you are the product. It's important to remember that. What's going on behind the scenes is that platforms are gathering information about who you are and what interests you so they can serve up ads. There are alternative models to that, but for better or worse, there's an algorithm in the background trying to maximize your attention. No matter what their algorithms are optimized for, curated and licensed content will produce better results. 

Credit, respect, stability: The three rules of licensing

The whole idea behind content licensing is to try to shape the environment in which a piece of news or information is presented, understood, and consumed. When we speak about licensing, it's an authorization. I work with publishers who want their content out there, but who also want some basic ground rules followed. First, they want to receive credit when their work is used. Second, platforms should respect intellectual property. Third, platforms should support the stability of the publishing market and avoid competing with publishers or replacing them.

A lot of people who make amazing material don't actually think of themselves as publishers. They should, because to be a publisher is to play a certain role in the world. It represents a bond between an audience and yourself, and through that relationship you create  a community. Then along comes something new like an AI bot. You have to think about what space to make for that technology, and where to draw the lines. The technology companies that align their business practices with publishers’ concerns through proper content licensing will have the best content for their users.

Tech companies need to think more like publishers

Right now, the relationship between AI companies and publishers is very unbalanced. Especially with AI, publishers have to think more like technology companies, and technology companies have to think more like publishers. If you want to shift the balance of power, you need to use technology as a publisher to set boundaries. In the past, there was a file you could put on your website called robots.txt that would tell search engine bots and web crawlers which pages they’re allowed to access. Today’s publishers are looking for something similar that can help AI systems understand what they can and cannot do with the publisher’s content.

Technology companies, meanwhile, need to understand that with AI, they have to think more like publishers. Google was found liable in a lawsuit in Germany for the content it produced in an AI Overview. That's not something tech companies are used to. They're used to saying the publisher is responsible for the quality of content. With generative AI, there's a strong argument that tech platforms like Google are in fact responsible for the output of their large language models, and that's taken them by surprise. They need to think more like publishers.

Apps and information platforms need curated content

If you want to cook a good meal, it’s vital that you start with good ingredients. It’s hard to make a delicacy with wilted vegetables and gristly meat. Similar rules apply in the world of AI as well. Apps and platforms that echo and amplify low-quality content are serving their users the equivalent of a lukewarm TV dinner. Conversely, apps and platforms that draw on the work of small, independent creators are providing gourmet feasts since they can serve up insights that might otherwise be overlooked. But surfacing these creators’ work isn’t enough–attribution alone won’t pay the bills. That’s where a solid licensing regime comes in. Paying creators when their material is used incentivizes them to keep producing high-quality material, which in turn ensures apps and platforms can continue to provide their users with high-quality responses to their queries. Everyone wins. 

The information we consume shapes our worldview enormously, but we don’t always  realize what we’re missing. It’s easy to end up in an ideological cocoon. What Newstex tries to do is offer a solid foundation of  quality content that developers and information services can then use in their applications. These platforms need a wide variety of news sources, and they need efficient ways to curate these sources and vet them for quality. Without these capabilities, platforms are  likely to disappoint their users with content that is not the right fit.

Content licensing supports the health of our information ecosystem

The prospect of journalists, publishers, and independent creators being denied a sustainable way to benefit from their work just makes me sad. Diverse voices add richness and color to the world and help us challenge our assumptions. Without them, our perspectives can flatten into dull, gray homogeneity. Content licensing enables a colorful media landscape with real variety in perspectives. 

That information ecosystem should be shaped by humans and our values, and content licensing is a powerful way to achieve this. If AI-enabled apps and information platforms give proper credit to publishers, respect intellectual property, and act as a stabilizing force in  the publishing market, they will support an environment in which both tech companies and publishers can thrive.

This piece is adapted from Michael Ellis's conversation on The Wisdom Transfer podcast. Listen to the full episode here.