06.11.2024, 06:03
Aravind Srinivas tried to take advantage of the opportunity and wrote directly to the president of The New York Times, but received no response (photo by Jakayla Toney/Unsplash.com)
The CEO of Perplexity, an artificial intelligence company, Aravind Srinivas, has offered to provide The New York Times with services aimed at mitigating the effects of a strike by the newspaper’s technology workers. The protest that started on Monday hampered coverage of the US presidential elections.
The trade union at “NYT” went on strike on Monday morning, deciding that it would not stop daily pickets if workers’ demands were not met.
X users criticize Srinivas
Perplexity’s CEO offered to replace the strikers, writing on Platform election. Write to me at any time here.
Read also: Strike of technical workers “The New York Times”. Election coverage at risk
Many X users immediately criticized Srinivas for taking advantage of the situation. The company’s CEO later explained that the offer was not to replace employees with artificial intelligence, but to provide technical support.
Why are you trying to monetise a strike?
— Ed Zitron (@edzitron) November 4, 2024
Earlier, in October, “NYT” sent a letter to Perplexity demanding that it stop downloading articles used in artificial intelligence models.
Perplexity founded in 2022
Last week, News Corp. companies filed lawsuits alleging such conduct by Preplexity. Rupert Murdoch. Dow Jones and The New York Post accused the startup of “brazen theft,” arguing that the company is ignoring invitations to negotiations.
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Aravind Srinivas is a former employee of Google (specifically his company DeepMind in London) and OpenAI – the company that created the record-breaking ChatGPT.
He founded Perplexity in August 2022 with three colleagues from Google – Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho and Andy Konwinski. The turning point for the company was the acquisition of powerful shareholders such as Amazon and Nvidia.
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(MAC, 06.11.2024)
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Ladies and gentlemen, gather ‘round! We’ve got a tale of corporate audacity… how shall I put it? Ah yes, like a fox in the henhouse—except this fox is wearing a tech bro hoodie and trying to undercut a group of striking journalists!
Let’s set the stage: It’s November 6, 2024, and our protagonist today is Aravind Srinivas, CEO of the AI company Perplexity. Now, in a twist reminiscent of a bad rom-com, Mr. Srinivas decided to step into the spotlight during a labor dispute at The New York Times. You know, that small, underdog publication that only happens to cover, oh I don’t know… everything important in the world?
Here’s the rub. Picture it: A strike erupts among the tech workers at the NYT, just when the U.S. presidential elections are heating up! Classic timing, right? And instead of providing sympathy or support—or perhaps a casserole—the CEO, in an unsolicited business move, offers to “mitigate” the strike by providing services to replace those striking tech workers. Talk about reading the room, Aravind! I bet his next offering involves a bake sale to raise money for strikers—unless of course, he thinks he can automate cookie-making with AI!
But, it gets even juicier! He writes directly to the president of The New York Times (bold move, Aravind), but naturally, the silence that followed must have been deafening—was it the sound of crickets or perhaps just the collective eye rolls of the entire editorial staff? I can hear them now: “Who does this guy think he is? Elon Musk’s less charming cousin?”
Now, not everyone is throwing a confetti party for Srinivas. Many users on X (formerly known as Twitter) are baring their teeth, criticizing him for trying to monetize a strike! Ed Zitron, a social media user—who one can assume is not a fan of this plot twist—famously quipped, “Why are you trying to monetize a strike?” As if this is a reality show: “American Idol: Strike Edition.” Imagine the episodes—”Who Will Win the Right to Work without AI Interference?”
And did we mention the legal troubles? Yes, before Mr. Srinivas decided to play corporate hero, The New York Times had already sent him a lovely little cease-and-desist notice asking him to stop pilfering their articles to feed his AI engines. “Thanks for the content, but we’ll take it from here,” they’re essentially saying. It’s a bit like someone stealing your lunch out of the fridge and then asking if you’d like it back as a side order—with a pinch of sass!
As if this melodrama wasn’t enough, let’s talk about Perplexity itself. How did a fellow from the impressive realms of Google and OpenAI, who has such illustrious toy kits, find himself embroiled in a PR nightmare? Well, it appears the company has some powerful backers, including Amazon and Nvidia—where money flows like wine at a cheesy wedding reception. You just know drama’s brewing when corporate giants are involved.
So there you have it! A tech CEO trying to dance through a tangled web of labor disputes, unintended consequences, and a social media sniping fest. Truly, we live in exciting times! The only thing left to do now is sit back and pop some popcorn and watch how this Shakespearean saga unfolds! Will the strikers win their demands? Will Aravind save the day? Stay tuned, because it’s going to be quite the entertaining ride!
E was impressed with his bravado. Social media erupted with criticism, and one Twitter user, Ed Zitron, laid it bare: “Why are you trying to monetise a strike?” Truth be told, it’s a fair question! Srinivas later attempted to clarify that his offer wasn’t about replacing workers with robots, but rather offering technical support. Kind of like saying, “Hey, I know you’re starving, but how about I sell you a sandwich instead of helping you find food?”
To add to the drama, just weeks before Srinivas’ unsolicited overture, The New York Times had sent a letter to Perplexity asking them to cease and desist from using their articles to train AI models. The audacity! No one likes a party crasher, especially one who comes bearing a business proposal amidst a labor dispute. And while Perplexity was founded less than two years ago with significant backing from industry giants like Amazon and Nvidia, one must wonder if they miss the nuance in public relations.
But, let’s zoom out for a moment. This is all happening against the backdrop of one of the most crucial events in American politics: the presidential elections. The strike jeopardized coverage, meaning less information for the very people Srinivas claims to want to support. Sounds like a classic case of trying to capitalize off chaos.
while Srinivas was likely trying to interject himself into a narrative that could elevate his company’s profile, it backfired spectacularly. So, here’s a nugget of wisdom for aspiring moguls: sometimes, less is more. Maybe, just maybe, keeping your head down and letting the professionals handle a strike is the way to go. After all, the next time you try to steal the limelight from journalists in the middle of a presidential election, you might just find yourself getting a fat dose of public backlash instead.
