Reddit has had a rocky relationship with its users, especially after the company listed changes to its third-party API access prices last year, which led to users protesting against the decision. And now things have once again taken a turn for the worse following the platform’s new AI training deal with an unnamed organization, causing users to cry foul against this deal.
With AI already being a major talking point, following its impact on different fields and its misuse in recent times, users are less than thrilled about the company’s reported decision ahead of going public.
Users Share Their Distaste With Reddit’s Reported Deal with Unnamed AI Organization
Last year, mods proceeded to shut down many of the popular subreddits to protest against the new API changes, leading to the platform going completely dark for a few days. Even though the platform heavily relies on user-generated content, Reddit previously showcased that they were ready to play hardball by not giving in to people’s demands. The reported deal of the platform with an unnamed AI organization, which will involve them sharing user content for an annual summation of about $60 million, has had users crying foul once again.
Big L for reddit bros
— Ri§en (@RisenLN_2) February 19, 2024
Are the users okay with this? This is a big deal. I would want to know how it would be used. Is it automatically retroactive?
— Stephanie (King Ari Press) (@KingAriPress) February 19, 2024
Thats how you create Skynet
— zbigi (@zbigi15) February 19, 2024
And so it begins. AI needs to be regulated. Reddit selling users info and content is just outrageous.
— ∂αιℓуσ∂∂ѕ (@DailyoddsX_Ng) February 19, 2024
This about to be the most insufferable AI there is.
— Blaine Henry (@BlaineHenryTFL) February 19, 2024
This deal could greatly impact its plans of going public, as they were reportedly advised to seek a $5 billion valuation before opening itself for public investment, which is expected to happen in March.
Reddit Previously Threatened to Cut Search Crawlers if the Deal Didn’t Go Through
The reported $60 million deal with the unnamed AI organization follows an October story from The Washington Post when Reddit threatened to cut down search crawlers from Google and Bing. The outlet claimed if the platform didn’t get training data deal with AI companies, they might proceed to cut search crawlers, with one anonymous source stating “Reddit could survive without the search”.
Before this deal, most AI companies resorted to training their AI in the open web, which, while legal, was morally questionable, leading to many companies setting a firmer grip on their content. This resulted in many outlets installing a blocker to prevent companies from stealing data to train their AI. Interestingly, the reported $60M deal with the unnamed organization is way bigger than the $5 million Open AI was reportedly offering news publishers.
And considering the platform didn’t bend to the historic protest that resulted in Reddit going dark for days, fans’ outcry might not impact the platform’s decision ahead of going public.
