Bloomberg

Reddit sells training data to unnamed AI company ahead of IPO

AI, Axel Springer, Biz & IT, Bloomberg, chatgpt, chatgtp, image synthesis, large language models, machine learning, openai, reddit, Stable Diffusion, steve huffman, text synthesis / Mike M. / February 20, 2024

Everything has a price —

If you’ve posted on Reddit, you’re likely feeding the future of AI.

Benj Edwards – Feb 19, 2024 9: 10 pm UTC

In this photo illustration the American social news

On Friday, Bloomberg reported that Reddit has signed a contract allowing an unnamed AI company to train its models on the site’s content, according to people familiar with the matter. The move comes as the social media platform nears the introduction of its initial public offering (IPO), which could happen as soon as next month.

Reddit initially revealed the deal, which is reported to be worth $60 million a year, earlier in 2024 to potential investors of an anticipated IPO, Bloomberg said. The Bloomberg source speculates that the contract could serve as a model for future agreements with other AI companies.

After an era where AI companies utilized AI training data without expressly seeking any rightsholder permission, some tech firms have more recently begun entering deals where some content used for training AI models similar to GPT-4 (which runs the paid version of ChatGPT) comes under license. In December, for example, OpenAI signed an agreement with German publisher Axel Springer (publisher of Politico and Business Insider) for access to its articles. Previously, OpenAI has struck deals with other organizations, including the Associated Press. Reportedly, OpenAI is also in licensing talks with CNN, Fox, and Time, among others.

In April 2023, Reddit founder and CEO Steve Huffman told The New York Times that it planned to charge AI companies for access to its almost two decades’ worth of human-generated content.

If the reported $60 million/year deal goes through, it’s quite possible that if you’ve ever posted on Reddit, some of that material may be used to train the next generation of AI models that create text, still pictures, and video. Even without the deal, experts have discovered in the past that Reddit has been a key source of training data for large language models and AI image generators.

While we don’t know if OpenAI is the company that signed the deal with Reddit, Bloomberg speculates that Reddit’s ability to tap into AI hype for additional revenue may boost the value of its IPO, which might be worth $5 billion. Despite drama last year, Bloomberg states that Reddit pulled in more than $800 million in revenue in 2023, growing about 20 percent over its 2022 numbers.

Advance Publications, which owns Ars Technica parent Condé Nast, is the largest shareholder of Reddit.

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Apple exec departure leads to major iPhone, Apple Watch reshuffle

Musical Chairs —

Tang Tan is leaving the company, and multiple people will shift to take his place.

Samuel Axon – Dec 8, 2023 9: 57 pm UTC

Enlarge / The iPhone 15 Pro.

Samuel Axon

According to a report in Bloomberg, Tang Tan, vice president of Product Design, is leaving Apple, and his departure heralds a shuffle of executives heading up some of the company’s most important products.

Sometimes, you might wonder just how much a specific executive influences the grand scheme of things, but the report claims that people within Apple see Tan’s departure as “a blow,” clarifying that he “made critical decisions about Apple’s most important products.” His team reportedly had “tight control” over the look and functionality of those products.

Tan oversaw major aspects of iPhone and Apple Watch design, and he was the executive overseeing accessories and AirPods, as well. He reported to John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, who is likely a more widely known name.

Richard Dinh, “Tan’s top lieutenant and head of iPhone product design,” will report directly to Ternus and take on some of Tan’s duties, while Kate Bergeron, previously involved in Mac hardware engineering, will take on the Apple Watch.

Apple has seen several executive departures from its product design and engineering groups recently, so many aspects of upcoming iPhones and other products will be designed with new eyes and perhaps new sensibilities, though what that might lead to remains to be seen.

Apple recently shifted the iPhone from the company’s proprietary Lightning port to a more standard USB-C, and it changed the materials for its Pro line of phones. Despite tweaks like that, the iPhone’s design and functionality has not changed significantly in the past five or so years.

The iPhone 16 line in 2024 is expected to shake things up a little more, at least regarding the phone’s look and feel. Rumors have suggested that the new phones may have larger screens (and bigger chassis overall) and perhaps haptic buttons instead of the current physical buttons. Other changes could be in store, and Apple’s plans are likely not yet finalized.