OpenAI and Microsoft (MSFT) have been accused of utilizing the work of nonfiction writers to train artificial intelligence models, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, resulting in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.
Julian Sancton, an author and director at Hollywood Reporter, spearheaded the proposed class action lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, alleging that OpenAI unlawfully utilized tens of thousands of fiction books to train their language models for human prompts.
This legal action is part of a series of lawsuits filed by various rights groups against OpenAI and other tech companies for the alleged misuse of copyrighted material in AI training, with notable authors like John Grisham, George R. R. Martin, and Jonathan Franzen involved. Both companies have denied these allegations.
Sancton’s lawsuit, which also includes Microsoft as a defendant, marks the second legal challenge against OpenAI. Microsoft, a major investor in artificial intelligence, has integrated OpenAI’s technologies into its products.
Representatives for OpenAI and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit filed on Tuesday.
Justin Nelson, Sancton’s attorney, emphasized that while OpenAI and Microsoft do not compensate nonfiction authors, they derive immense value from their AI platform, which allegedly relies on the unauthorized use of copyrighted material.
The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI trained its GPT language models by extracting content from nonfiction books, including Sancton’s own work, “Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgicas Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night.”
Furthermore, the lawsuit implicates Microsoft in potential patent infringements due to its significant involvement in the training and advancement of these models.
Sancton is seeking unspecified damages from the court and a restraining order to halt the alleged infringements.
The reporting was conducted by Brittain Blake in Washington, with David Bario and Aurora Ellis providing editorial oversight.
