So check this out, man. There’s some crazy stuff happening in the world of AI and copyright infringement. Apparently, a bunch of big-name American authors like Jonathan Franzen, John Grisham, Jodi Picoult, and George R.R. Martin are suing OpenAI for using their works without permission. And get this, OpenAI is co-funded by Microsoft! I mean, talk about a heavyweight battle, right?
According to court documents obtained by dpa, OpenAI, the same company responsible for that chatbot called ChatGPT, allegedly used these authors’ works to develop their artificial intelligence technology. But here’s the thing, OpenAI hasn’t really said much about the lawsuit yet.
The authors claim that users of ChatGPT have been using this tool to write prequels and sequels to Martin’s bestselling series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” which you’ll probably know better as the fantasy novels that were turned into the mega-hit HBO series “Game of Thrones.” And get this, Martin still hasn’t released the last two books in the series! Can you believe that?
Now, these authors are not playing around, man. They want the court to prohibit OpenAI from using copyrighted works in their language models without express authorization. And they’re even seeking damages of up to $150,000 per work! That’s some serious dough they’re going after.
But here’s the thing, this isn’t the first time OpenAI has been hit with this kind of lawsuit. This year alone, comedian Sarah Silverman and authors Christopher Golden and Richard Kadrey also sued OpenAI and another company called Meta for allegedly infringing on their copyrights to train their own AI models, GPT-4 and Llama 2. It’s like a never-ending cycle, man!
And guess what? OpenAI is not the only tech company in the chatbot game. Google, Meta, Microsoft, all these big players are also offering similar AI chatbot tools for free. It’s like a wild west out there, where everyone is trying to capitalize on this AI craze.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The tech companies are defending themselves by saying that their chatbots are not plagiarizing artists’ content. They claim that they’re just using it as inspiration to create their own unique content. It’s like a fine line between plagiarism and inspiration, man. Who knew AI could bring up such deep philosophical questions, right?
But here’s a little update. OpenAI recently announced that website owners can now block their web crawler from using their content to train their language models. Some big names like The New York Times have already taken action and stopped OpenAI from accessing their data. It’s like a game of cat and mouse, man.
Oh, and just to add some spice to the mix, a privacy violation lawsuit against OpenAI got dismissed in California this week. So it’s not all bad news for them, I guess.
But hey, it’s not just the authors who are raising their voices. American screenwriters are also demanding better regulation and fair compensation for the use of AI. They’ve been on strike since May, and even actors have joined in the protest. This is the first double strike by actors and screenwriters in over 60 years, man. Hollywood’s feeling the impact, big time.
So yeah, man, it’s a wild and crazy world out there with AI and copyright battles. Who knows what’s gonna happen next? We’ll just have to wait and see. Stay tuned, folks!
[Article Source: EFE, dpa]
