Whether you’re fully into the anti-AI movement or not, Reddit’s filing should light some warning lights for you:
We believe we are in the early stages of monetizing our user base…
…Given the value of Reddit’s data in sentiment analysis and trend identification, we believe that there is an emerging opportunity in data licensing. As LLMs continue to grow, we believe that Reddit will be core to the capabilities of organizations that use data as well as the next generation of generative AI and LLM platforms.
Reddit is selling your data and will happily continue to do so, to make more money. Training AI with it is just yet one more way to gain profit from your content.
Credit goes to 404 media (the article is free, but you do need to register):
The long-awaited S-1 filing reveals much of what Reddit users knew and feared: That many of the changes the company has made over the last year in the leadup to an IPO are focused on exerting control over the site, sanitizing parts of the platform, and monetizing user data. The filing says Reddit has already entered into contracts that will pay it at least $203 million over the next 2-3 years for “data licensing” that consists of “allowing third parties to access, search, and analyze data on our platform.