Two authors have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that the company violated copyright laws by using their published books to train its language model, ChatGPT, without obtaining their consent. The authors, Mona Awad and Paul Tremblay, argue that ChatGPT’s ability to produce detailed summaries of their works suggests that their books were included in the datasets used to train the technology.
This legal action underscores the growing tension between creatives and generative AI tools, as concerns mount over how these technologies could impact creative careers and livelihoods. According to Daniel Gervais, a law professor at Vanderbilt University, this lawsuit is just one of several copyright cases against generative AI tools nationwide, and he predicts that many more authors will pursue legal action as these programs improve at replicating the style of writers and artists. Gervais believes a wave of legal challenges targeting the output of tools like ChatGPT is imminent.
Proving the authors’ monetary damages resulting from OpenAI’s data-collection practices may be challenging. While ChatGPT may have obtained Awad and Tremblay’s work through alternative sources rather than directly from the authors, it is still possible that the bot ingested their books, as claimed in the lawsuit.
Experts, such as Andres Guadamuz from the University of Sussex, also note that even if the books are present in OpenAI’s training datasets, the company could have acquired the work through lawful means, such as collecting data from another dataset.
The Authors Guild, an advocacy group supporting writers, recently published an open letter requesting that the CEOs of Big Tech and AI companies obtain permission from writers to use their copyrighted work and compensate writers fairly when training generative AI programs. The letter has already garnered over 2,000 signatures.
In addition to Awad and Tremblay’s lawsuit, OpenAI also faces another legal complaint accusing the company of collecting large amounts of personal data and incorporating it into ChatGPT. The plaintiffs allege that OpenAI harvested essentially every piece of data exchanged on the internet it could take.
The lawsuit by Awad and Tremblay, filed in a district court in Northern California, seeks damages and the restitution of lost profits. The filing included ChatGPT-generated summaries of Awad’s novels 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl and Bunny, as well as Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World, which was adapted into the film Knock at the Cabin by M. Night Shyamalan.
OpenAI and Awad have not provided comments on the matter, while a representative for Tremblay declined to comment.
