The writers, Nicholas Basbanes and Nicholas Gage, allege that OpenAI and Microsoft improperly utilised their work for training artificial intelligence models, including the widely used chatbot ChatGPT and other AI based services
Authors take legal action against OpenAI and Microsoft for unauthorised use in AI training. (Credit: Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash)
ChatGPT creator OpenAI and its major investor Microsoft have been sued in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York by two nonfiction authors.
The writers, Nicholas Basbanes and Nicholas Gage, allege that the companies improperly utilised their work to train artificial intelligence (AI) models, including the widely used chatbot ChatGPT and other AI based services.
In a proposed class action, Basbanes and Gage claim that the inclusion of several of their books in the data used to train OpenAI’s GPT large language model constitutes copyright infringement.
Both Nicholas Basbanes and Nicholas Gage, the plaintiffs in the present case, are former journalists. Their attorney, Michael Richter, expressed outrage at the companies’ ability to leverage their works to fuel a burgeoning billion-dollar industry without providing any compensation.
The legal action is part of a series of lawsuits filed by a diverse group of writers, encompassing both fiction and nonfiction genres.
Notable figures such as comedian Sarah Silverman and “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin have taken tech companies to court, asserting that their creative works were improperly utilised in training AI programmes.
Recently, New York Times joined the legal proceedings, suing OpenAI and Microsoft over the alleged use of its journalists’ work in training AI applications.
New York Times has accused OpenAI and Microsoft of utilising millions of its articles without permission, alleging that these materials were used to train chatbots designed to deliver information to readers. This legal action marks the first instance of a major U.S media organisation suing OpenAI and Microsoft specifically over copyright concerns related to its content.
Microsoft had invested in OpenAI in 2019 and 2021, and in early 2023 confirmed a multibillion-dollar investment in the AI research and deployment company. Through its extended partnership with OpenAI, Microsoft expects to help expedite advancements in AI to ensure that the benefits are widely shared with the world.