In a stunning turn of events, OpenAI engineers have accidentally erased critical evidence gathered by The New York Times and other major newspapers in their lawsuit over AI training data. According to a court filing, the newspapers' legal teams had spent over 150 hours searching through OpenAI's AI training data to find instances where their news articles were included.

The filing claims that OpenAI admitted to the error and tried to recover the data, but what was salvaged was incomplete and unreliable. This raises significant questions about accountability and the handling of sensitive data in the development of AI models. The New York Times' attorneys have expressed skepticism about the incident, stating they have "no reason to believe" it was intentional.

The lawsuit, launched by The New York Times Company last December, alleges that OpenAI and its partner Microsoft built their AI tools by "copying and using millions" of the publication's articles, and are now "directly competing" with its content. The publication is seeking "billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages" for allegedly copying its works. The incident has sparked controversy and highlights the need for greater transparency and accountability in the development of AI technology.