According to a report from Bloomberg, Reddit has signed a content licensing deal allowing AI models to "train" on its users' submitted data to the sum of $60 mil every year. Officially, Reddit has declined to comment on the matter, but the timing of it aligns with expectations of its first Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the stock market in the coming months.
As expected, the move has been met with scrutiny and backlash in the hours since the story first dropped, but it isn't clear what recourse people reluctant to share their comments with AI engines have, at least outside of some direct legal action. Social media platforms like Reddit monetize user data all the time— however, the long-term viability of generative AI without legal challenges seems questionable. The viability becomes even murkier on a platform like Reddit, where copyrighted or even pirated content is often posted, even if it gets taken down.
