Publisher Taylor & Francis sold the research of their authors to Microsoft as part of an AI partnership without informing them, giving them an opportunity to opt-out or receive extra payment.

Worth almost GBP 8 million (USD 10 million) in its first year, the deal had been included (pdf) in a trading update by the publisher’s parent company Informa, and providing Microsoft non-exclusive access to advanced learning content and data to enhance its AI systems.

Taylor & Francis author Dr. Ruth Alison Clemens said “I only found out about this via word of mouth in the past few days. I was shocked that they had not publicised this more widely to their authors, as the use of AI and LLMs is a prominent concern for academic researchers today.”

The controversy raised questions about about fairness and equitable compensation, and about Taylor & Francis' transparency - the company failed to explain whether an opt-out policy exists or could be implemented, leaving authors uncertain about their rights and options.

It also highlighted broader concerns about the reduction of academic research into raw data for AI systems and the perceived and actual integrity and value of scholarly work, and the professional futures of researchers.