US Authors File Lawsuit Against OpenAI for Copyright Infringement
US authors George RR Martin and John Grisham are taking legal action against OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, for allegedly infringing their copyrights. According to the lawsuit, OpenAI used the authors’ books without permission to enhance the intelligence of ChatGPT. The case has been brought to the federal court in Manhattan by the Authors Guild, which represents several prominent authors.
ChatGPT and similar large language models learn by analyzing vast amounts of data, often sourced online. The lawsuit claims that copyrighted books were utilized to train ChatGPT without the authors’ consent. It also raises concerns about the displacement of human-authored content by AI technology in the media industry.
OpenAI, on the other hand, stated that it respects the rights of authors and believes they should benefit from AI advancements. The company expressed optimism about finding mutually beneficial ways to collaborate with creators, including the Authors Guild.
While sympathizing with the authors behind the lawsuit, legal expert Patrick Goold believes that it is unlikely to succeed. He argues that they would initially need to prove that ChatGPT copied and duplicated their work. Goold further suggests that concerns about AI replacing human labor should be addressed through legislation, rather than relying solely on copyright enforcement.
This case is the latest in a series of legal complaints against developers of generative AI systems, which can create media based on text prompts. Earlier this year, digital artists filed lawsuits against text-to-image generators for allegedly training their models on copyrighted artwork.
OpenAI is also facing a lawsuit from a group of computing experts who claim that their code was used without permission to train an AI called Copilot. Microsoft and programming site GitHub are co-defendants in this case.
The outcome of this lawsuit could have significant implications for the intersection of AI technology and copyright laws. As AI continues to advance, it is crucial to find a balance between protecting intellectual property rights and promoting innovation and creativity in the digital age.
