Spirit Airlines' internal data sparks bidding war among AI firms
Grounded Spirit Airlines' corporate data is emerging as a valuable asset for AI companies seeking training material. Google made a $10 million bid, but a rival offer has surfaced.
Spirit Airlines, which ceased operations in May as part of bankruptcy proceedings, may see its internal corporate data fetch a multimillion-dollar price tag. The dataset, potentially including internal wikis, emails, source code, and spreadsheets, is being eyed by artificial intelligence companies for training AI models.
Google reportedly submitted a $10 million bid for the data trove, according to court documents. However, AI training provider Micro1 has since lodged a rival offer of $12.5 million. It remains uncertain if Micro1's bid, submitted after the auction's conclusion, will be considered by the bankruptcy court.
While the Google deal includes provisions for de-identifying personal information through a third party and excludes customer lists, a flight attendant union has raised objections. The union argues that employee privacy needs further protection, as individuals could still be identifiable even after personal names are removed from the files.
The competition for Spirit's data highlights a broader trend where AI developers are acquiring datasets from defunct and active businesses. This data is seen as crucial for training AI to perform tasks in realistic workplace environments, though privacy advocates caution about potential exposure of sensitive information.