Artificial intelligence tech companies are refusing to abide by internet protocol when it comes to scraping data. Their ravenous scavenging behavior is upending the basic rules of the internet.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
On every website, there’s a message that contains a hidden stop sign. It’s intended for bots, not humans, a way of saying, do not scan this part of the website. The artificial intelligence industry is ignoring these stop signs, and understanding why sheds light on how AI companies are turning the web upside down. NPR’s Bobby Allyn reports.
BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE: The story starts in the mid-’90s, the days of