Legal

Can you clarify? My understanding is that it's very unclear whether there are any legal issues (in most jurisdictions) in scraping for training.

Obviously some fairy reputable organisations and individuals are moderately confident that there isn't otherwise they wouldn't have done it.

"It's very unclear" in legal cases is synonymous with "it hasn't been challenged in court yet". You say they're moderately confident because they're fairly reputable, but remember that Madoff was a "reputable business man" for the 20 years he ran a ponzi scheme. They don't have to be confident in the legality to do it, they just had to be confident in the potential profit. With openai being values at $10B by Microsoft, I'd say they've successfully muddied the legal waters long enough to cash out.

That's one company. There's dozens if not hundreds of companies, research groups and individuals working under the same assumption.

Maybe it's a mass delusion but that feels like a stretch.

If I make it sound like a sinister conspiracy or cash grab, that's because that's what it as long as it's a private entity and not a public endeavor.

I don't deny that this might be a worthy pursuit or the right direction to be looking, or that that's the reason some people are in it. I just question the motivations of a private company valued at $10b which is going to have a lot more control over the direction of the industry than those passionate individuals.