Amazon Investigates Perplexity AI for Unauthorized Content Scraping
- Rohit.Rs
- Jul 16, 2024
- 2 min read
Amazon is currently investigating claims that the AI startup Perplexity AI has been scraping content from websites, including major news sites, without permission.
Amazon spokesperson Samantha Mayowa confirmed that the company is looking into information provided by WIRED. The news outlet conducted an investigation that suggested Perplexity AI might be accessing content from websites that have explicitly prohibited such activities. Perplexity AI uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) servers.
Mayowa stated, "Amazon’s terms of service prohibit abusive and illegal activities, and our customers are responsible for complying with those terms. We routinely receive reports of alleged abuse from a variety of sources and engage our customers to understand those reports."
Perplexity AI's spokesperson, Sara Platnick, responded by saying that the company has confirmed its services are not crawling websites in any way that violates AWS terms of service.
Perplexity AI, a San Francisco-based AI search startup, has gained significant attention from tech investors, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. However, recent allegations of plagiarism have put the company under scrutiny.
The controversy began when Perplexity AI was accused of publishing a news summary with content and wording similar to a Forbes investigative story, without proper citation or permission. Forbes later identified additional instances of similar content being used without authorization.
Additionally, The Associated Press reported that another Perplexity AI product created fake quotes attributed to real people.
In response, Perplexity AI's CEO, Aravind Srinivas, defended the company, stating, "We never ripped off content from anybody. Our engine is not training on anyone else’s content." He explained that the company's technology aggregates content generated by other companies' AI systems.
However, Srinivas acknowledged the need for better source attribution, saying, "It was accurately pointed out by Forbes that they preferred a more prominent highlighting of the source." He assured that sources are now being highlighted more prominently.
Amazon's review is ongoing, and the outcome will determine if any further actions are needed to ensure compliance with their terms of service.
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