George RR Martin, the renowned author of Game of Thrones, alongside other prominent fiction writers, has filed a class-action lawsuit against OpenAI, a tech startup, for alleged copyright infringement. The lawsuit claims that OpenAI unlawfully used their literary works to train its generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT. The Authors Guild, an association representing authors’ interests, and a group of acclaimed novelists like John Grisham and Jodi Picoult, have joined the lawsuit.
OpenAI utilizes language models in ChatGPT to generate text responses that closely resemble human language when answering queries. The plaintiffs argue that OpenAI used their copyrighted works to train these language models without proper authorization. In a complaint filed in a New York federal court, it is stated, And at the heart of these algorithms is systematic theft on a massive scale.
Artists, organizations, and coders have filed numerous similar lawsuits against OpenAI and its competitors, alleging that their work has been misappropriated. The complaint accuses OpenAI’s language models of endangering the livelihood of fiction writers by allowing anyone to automatically and freely create texts that were traditionally paid for.
The Authors Guild and the writers involved in the lawsuit are seeking a ban on the use of copyrighted books in developing language models without express authorization, alongside damages. OpenAI has not specified which sites and writings were used in training ChatGPT, but it has relied on extensive texts found online.
OpenAI has faced various complaints since the success of ChatGPT, including a lawsuit from computer engineers who sued Microsoft, OpenAI’s main investor, and the GitHub platform. Additionally, in January, artists filed a class-action lawsuit against DreamUp, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion, three image-generating AI models programmed with online art.
Microsoft recently announced that it would provide legal protection to customers facing copyright infringement lawsuits over content generated by its AI tools. OpenAI, however, has not yet responded to the allegations made in the lawsuit filed by George RR Martin, the Authors Guild, and other prominent novelists.
In conclusion, OpenAI finds itself entangled in a legal battle as acclaimed authors, led by George RR Martin, and the Authors Guild accuse the tech startup of copyright infringement in relation to its generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT. The lawsuit raises concerns over the unauthorized use of literary works and seeks a ban on such practices, as well as damages. OpenAI’s response to the allegations remains pending.
Link to news article: [NewsAPI]
