TOKYO – Perplexity AI Inc. expressed feelings of confusion and regret on Tuesday in response to a protest by Japanese news agency Kyodo News over unauthorized use of its articles to provide services for the U.S. startup’s web search engine.
The statement came after Kyodo accused the startup of using its articles without permission to provide online responses generated by artificial intelligence for its web search engine and infringing the news agency’s copyright.
“We are confused and regretful that doubts have been raised in Japan against Perplexity,” the startup said, arguing its service receives millions of inquiries from Japan every day and that it responds to people’s intellectual curiosity and right to understand information accurately.
On Monday, Kyodo’s 48 member newspapers also jointly released a statement of protest regarding the unauthorized collection and use by Perplexity of articles produced by news media outlets.
The Mainichi Newspapers Co. and Sankei Shimbun Co., major dailies in Japan which subscribe to Kyodo’s articles, also sent similar letters of protest to Perplexity on Monday.
The San Francisco-based company said it will respond thoroughly to inquiries from news organizations after confirming the facts.
Japan’s minister for AI strategy Kimi Onoda said Tuesday that the government will closely monitor developments.
“To use AI with confidence, the risks also need to be addressed,” Onoda said in a press conference.
