One court decision to rule them all

Google search glitches, Reddit reimagines search, and OpenAI's profit switcheroo. All this and more in this week's Content Aware.

Published: 15:10, 08 May 2025

Corbidge comments on...whether the ends justify the means
While there is a disconnect between the optimistic narrative surrounding GenAI and what is actually observable on the ground, making predictions about the future seems a bit difficult. Our grizzled veteran of a number of tech hype wars explores themes of anxiety, uncertainty, and the need to stay relevant in the ever-changing world of publishing.
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AI vs Copyright: the ruling that could change the game
A US judge has hinted that using copyright materials for AI training might not fall under Fair Use, potentially favouring the authors suing Meta for using pirated books in its Llama models. This case, if the court rules that training AI without consent isn't Fair Use, could be a turning point in the fight to protect intellectual property, reaffirm the value of original work and content as well as force the tech giants to finally pay up. The content creation industry has been too lenient for too long, and it is obvious that everyone needs a wake up call, especially the tech overlords who want to keep exploiting copyright for the price of zero dollars a month.
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Is AI the threat, or is it actually human obsolescence?
With every day as AI rapidly advances, are humans risking becoming obsolete? Not through AI's malice or rebellion, but just because AI may outperform us in nearly every role, be it economic, social, or cultural. If we want to avoid a Terminator plot, it's clear that we must track AI's impact, regulate its use but also empower human agency. The Guardian's David Duvenaud shares his thoughts on how not to sleepwalk into obsolescence, and with that, into irrelevance.
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Synthetic harvesting down on the slop farm
We were promised "prompt engineers", and instead we're getting slop farmers. An interesting investigation highlights the careful targeting of females aged 50+ with low quality AIGen content across multiple platforms. Is Slopageddon approaching?
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Google Search Console's indexing glitch 
Researchers found out that up to 94% of cases where Google Search Console was misclassifying URLs as "Discovered - currently not indexed" were misreported, even for previously indexed pages, which raises serious concerns for site owners and SEOs. These findings obviously undermine trust in one of the most widely used tools, and whether it is a UX-driven simplification or a deeper oversight, Google owes its users some transparency.
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OpenAI's profit pivot: balancing profit and purpose
OpenAI's shift sheds a light on the never-ending struggle between benefiting humanity and competing in the high-stakes AI race. Sam Altman and the gang were under a lot of pressure from critics, one of them being Elon Musk, which argued that the shift from non-profit might make the company more susceptible to corporate pressure, and in turn side-lining ethical considerations in favour of profits. Now it's on OpenAI, to prove that it can maintain its focus on societal benefit amidst mounting commercial interests. Something tells us that this won't be the last we hear on this topic.
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TikTok fined €530M for data violation
TikTok has been fined a whopping €530M by Ireland's Data Protection Commission for transferring European user data to China, and failing to disclose any of it. The company plans to appeal, arguing that the ruling could harm global business. You heard it here first folks, protecting user privacy and sidestepping key privacy regulations harms TikTok's global business.
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Is AI disrupting the internet's business model?
Matthew Prince of Cloudflare explains how AIs scraping and repurposing online materials without compensation is disrupting the internet's business model, and by doing that undermining the traditional ad-base model. This is just one aspect of the current debate where AI companies seemingly do what they want while media organisations face declining traffic, reduced revenue, and pressure to defend the value of original journalism.
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AI assistance: a solution no one asked for
Despite the relentless push from the tech masters, a ZDNET/Aberdeen survey reveals that Americans just aren't interested. The survey reveals that 71% of US adults wouldn't pay extra for AI features and in many cases, they don't want them at all. We're not talking about hesitation here, but outright rejection of the narrative that is being pushed from the top down. Vendors, as well as tech companies, seem to be more focused on chasing trends and justifying their investments, than on solving real problems or meeting actual demands. If this trend keeps on growing, the industry might need to rethink their approach before AI assistants become a liability instead of a desired feature.
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Paywalls work, but many readers slip through
A study done by Georgia Tech and Notre Dame found that 0.21% of paywall encounters lead to subscriptions, which is still far higher than those that never see one. Most of the readers either leave or look for free content, while 11% bypass paywalls - mainly via private browsing, which in itself is a growing challenge. This could be viewed as an opportunity and we should ask ourselves, if these readers are willing to work this hard to access journalism, what offer could turn them into paying supporters? The key for publishers isn't to lock away their content, but to try and understand the audience on both sides.
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News apps prove their value
While news apps might not flood the newsrooms with new subscribers, they are still proving their worth in retention, habit-building, and deepening engagement with the core audiences. Media Voice's Esther Kezia Thorpe sheds light on how different publishers are using apps to connect to their audience and drive real value.
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Content marketing's crisis: quality first
With the rise of AI and zero-click searches, traditional SEO content is failing. Jono Alderson explains why it's important for publishers to remember that what the readers need is an original, insightful journalism ecosystem, and not articles stuffed with keywords whose only purpose is to produce clicks and bring in the bucks.
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