Authors Guild Files Lawsuit Against OpenAI Over Alleged Unauthorized Use of Books for AI Training"

The Authors Guild, a prominent US trade group representing authors, has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming that the organization used copyrighted books without permission to train its large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT. The suit alleges that this unauthorized use of authors’ works contributed to making ChatGPT and other LLMs smarter.

OpenAI, known for its advancements in artificial intelligence, including the development of language models like GPT-3.5, responded by stating that it respects the rights of authors and believes they should benefit from AI technology. The case, which has been brought to the federal court in Manhattan, New York, involves several well-known authors, including Martin, Jonathan Franzen, Jodi Picoult, and George Saunders.

The lawsuit accuses OpenAI of engaging in “systematic theft on a mass scale” by incorporating copyrighted content into its AI models without proper authorization. This legal action follows similar cases, including comedian Sarah Silverman’s lawsuit in July and an open letter signed by authors Margaret Atwood and Philip Pullman, which called on AI companies to compensate authors for using their work.

One of the key arguments in the case is that ChatGPT and similar AI models were trained on copyrighted books, allowing them to provide accurate summaries and information based on those texts. The Authors Guild also raises concerns about AI technology displacing human-authored content in the media industry.

Legal experts, however, suggest that the lawsuit faces challenges in proving copyright infringement, as authors would need to establish that ChatGPT copied and duplicated their work. Additionally, some experts argue that the primary concern of the authors may not be copyright infringement but the potential impact of AI on creative jobs, likening it to the concerns currently seen in the screenwriting industry.

Patrick Goold, a reader in law at City University, noted that addressing the broader issue of AI displacing human labor may require legislative action rather than relying solely on copyright laws.

This lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal actions against developers of generative AI, particularly artificial intelligence capable of creating media based on text prompts. Earlier cases involving digital artists suing text-to-image generators and a lawsuit against OpenAI, Microsoft, and GitHub by computing experts for alleged unauthorized code use in training an AI named Copilot have yet to be resolved.

OpenAI has stated that it is engaging in productive discussions with creators, including the Authors Guild, to address their concerns about AI technology and seek mutually beneficial ways to collaborate.