News Corp Says AI Is Plundering Books — 'The Art of the Deal' Becomes 'The Art of the Steal'

News Corp raises the alarm

News Corp has publicly accused AI developers of mining copyrighted material from bestselling books, calling out the high-profile example of The Art of the Deal. CEO Robert Thomson described the practice as 'blatant theft' during the company’s latest earnings call and warned that unlicensed scraping by generative models could undercut authors' future income streams.

A two-track response: wooing and suing

Thomson explained that News Corp is pursuing a dual strategy: negotiating licensing agreements with AI firms while preparing legal action where necessary. The company says licensed partnerships can create frameworks that compensate creators, but it is also ready to litigate to defend copyrights and push for clearer rules around data collection and model training.

AI and intellectual property at the center

This dispute sits at the heart of wider tensions between publishers, creators and big tech. Major AI players including Meta and OpenAI have faced criticism for training models on unlicensed or copyrighted content. Some companies argue their use is 'transformative,' while critics insist copying material without permission is theft rather than transformation.

Legal outcomes remain unsettled. Recent rulings — such as a decision involving The Art of the Deal — have not resolved the broader question of what constitutes permissible training data for AI under current copyright law, leaving many gray areas for courts and regulators to address.

Why The Art of the Deal resonates

Thomson framed the debate as more than a legal fight: when a culturally significant book is replicated by an AI without authorization, the harm can be emotional as well as economic. The Art of the Deal is embedded in public discourse, and unauthorized re-use of its phrasing and ideas fuels industry fears that generative AI could erode the value of creative labor.

What this means for publishing and creators

Paying attention to licensing trends will be crucial. News Corp has previously struck deals to license content to AI firms, suggesting one path forward: negotiated terms that reward creators and provide transparency about how training datasets are constructed. But obstacles remain — uncertain legislation, demands for greater platform transparency, and authors' push for recognition and compensation.

As the sector adapts, expect more licensing negotiations, courtroom battles, and policy debates. The clash over how AI learns from human-created work will shape the relationship between technology and creativity for years to come.