Authors sue Microsoft and OpenAI, claiming AI "pilfered" books for billions

Two prominent authors, Nicholas Basbanes and Nicholas Gage, have filed a class action lawsuit against tech giants Microsoft and OpenAI, accusing them of using copyrighted books to train their artificial intelligence systems without permission. This claim comes just one week after The New York Times filed a similar suit against the same defendants.

The suit alleges that Microsoft and OpenAI, creators of the AI chatbot ChatGPT, “systematically pilfered” the authors’ works, including Basbanes’ “A Gentle Madness” and Gage’s bestselling memoir “Eleni,” to train their massive language models. These models, capable of generating human-quality text, rely on vast amounts of data, raising concerns about the boundaries of fair use and copyright in the age of AI.

“They’re no different than any other thief,” the lawsuit declares, comparing the alleged infringement to stealing building materials hidden within walls. The authors seek to represent a broad class of writers whose works may have been used without permission, potentially encompassing tens of thousands of individuals. Damages of up to $150,000 are sought for each infringed work.

Microsoft and OpenAI have yet to formally respond to the new lawsuit. However, OpenAI previously stated its commitment to “working with content creators” in the wake of the Times’ action. However, legal experts anticipate a fierce battle ahead, with potential implications for the future development and deployment of AI technology.

The fight for author’s rights in the digital age is escalating, and this lawsuit promises to be a landmark case in determining the boundaries of permissible data use in artificial intelligence.

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