Authors Mona Awad and Paul Tremblay have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the organization behind ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot. The authors claim that OpenAI violated copyright law by training its model on their novels without obtaining their permission. The case, filed as a class-action lawsuit in a San Francisco federal court, is the first of its kind to challenge the use of copyrighted material in training language models.
ChatGPT is known for generating human-like responses and is trained using publicly available data from the internet. Awad and Tremblay argue that ChatGPT accurately summarized their copyrighted books, which led to their inclusion in the lawsuit. The authors’ lawyers assert that OpenAI should be held accountable for profiting from the unauthorized use of their work, accusing the company of stolen writing and ideas.
Proving financial losses directly attributable to ChatGPT’s training on copyrighted material may be challenging, as the functionality of the chatbot relies on a vast range of internet information. Despite the alleged infringement, ChatGPT’s operation may remain largely unaffected since it draws from various sources, including discussions about the books.
The issue of OpenAI’s use of copyrighted works highlights concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the organization’s training data. The authors’ lawyers suggest that the training material for ChatGPT, referred to as Books2, likely includes books obtained from shadow libraries such as Library Genesis (LibGen) and Z-Library.
The outcome of this case depends on whether the court recognizes fair use in relation to the usage of copyrighted material. The implications of the ruling will differ because the fair use defense is treated differently in the United Kingdom.
The publishing industry has been actively discussing ways to protect authors from potential harms related to artificial intelligence. The Society of Authors (SoA) has published guidelines to help authors safeguard their work. The lawsuit against OpenAI is seen as a positive step towards addressing concerns regarding the unauthorized use of authors’ work.
While existing laws aim to regulate AI, they often struggle to keep up with technological advancements. Policymakers are urged to consult principles that protect the value of human authorship and consider recommendations from organizations like the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS).
Last month, OpenAI faced another lawsuit from a radio host based in Georgia who claimed that the organization provided false data about a legal case. These lawsuits represent significant challenges for OpenAI as it navigates the legal boundaries within the generative AI field.
