We recently shared some of the latest Copilot enhancements, focusing on Voice and Vision. Another feature launched alongside Voice and Vision was Copliot Daily. Utilizing Copilot Voice, Copilot Daily provides users with a daily summary of news, weather, and more.
This functionality is in itself a clever and relevant use case for Copilot. However, the real story is how Microsoft will work with and compensate its publishing partners that supply content for Copilot Daily.
Collaborative Publishing
Earlier this year, we reported on the ongoing complexity surrounding the risks to intellectual property in the AI era. The problem we highlighted was a lack of universal AI governance to establish protocols for working with online publishers.
Now, Microsoft is tackling this issue at the root, by ensuring that the publishers it works with for Copliot Daily content — which include Reuters, Axel Springer, Hearst Magazines, USA TODAY Network, and Financial Times — are adequately compensated.
While Microsoft hasn’t divulged exactly how much it will pay for content, two things have been confirmed: the publishers providing content to Copilot Daily will be paid, and more publishers will be added to the existing list.
Another key aspect of this announcement is the fact that Microsoft is only drawing on specific sources to fuel the output from Copilot Daily. This, in itself, circumvents the issue of failing to operate under the guidelines set by the company because it isn’t opening up the entirety of the internet, reducing the complexity involved.
Intellectual Property Implications
Although much of the finer detail regarding how and how much Microsoft will compensate publishers whose content is used by Copilot Daily is yet to be released, this news is significant. There is a major disconnect between federal lawmakers and technology companies on how best to implement AI governance.
Moves like this by Microsoft are important because they are aimed at recognition and protection of intellectual property. Ultimately, these small steps toward developing a structure and strategy for AI governance could lead, collectively, to a unified proposal that could be presented to lawmakers.
We are already seeing major tech companies working more closely and collaboratively than ever before. Perhaps, as each individual organization develops new governance protocols to be used by its own platform, we’ll see this collaboration continue when it comes to the adoption of these policies and standards by third parties.
It may seem like a small step for Microsoft, just a cog in the complex web of Copilot use cases. However, the decision to pay publishers for content could have major ramifications across the industry.
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