Artificial intelligence companies are facing mounting pressure from some of the biggest names in technology and media, as new technologies raise concerns about chatbots that could potentially challenge human intelligence.
Elon Musk has recently taken legal action against OpenAI, alleging that the company and its CEO, Sam Altman, have deviated from their original mission by prioritizing profits over the betterment of humanity.
This lawsuit, filed on Thursday, is just one of several legal challenges that the maker of ChatGPT has faced in recent months. OpenAI has been sued by well-known authors like John Grisham and Jodi Picoult, as well as journalists and news outlets such as the New York Times. The company is also under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for potentially misleading investors after Altman’s removal in November, before he was later reinstated.
Many of the complaints against AI companies like OpenAI involve allegations of copyright law violations and unauthorized use of information from online media sources. A victory for the plaintiffs could mean that AI companies would have to pay to use certain materials to train their programs, according to Justin Hughes, a professor at Loyola Law School specializing in copyright law.
“There are some who claim that copyright laws could threaten this new technology or even bring generative AI to a standstill. This is completely untrue,” Hughes stated. “I believe that the future of AI should be shaped, in part, by thoughtful and balanced policies and regulations – copyright should not hinder or halt generative AI.”.
Here are some of the key lawsuits to keep an eye on:
Elon Musk vs Sam Altman, Gregory Brockman, OpenAI Inc
Musk is alleging that the company he co-founded has violated its founding agreement by prioritizing profits over the welfare of humanity.
According to Musk’s lawyers, the startup was originally established as a nonprofit organization to serve as a counterpoint to other AI ventures. However, they argue that it has now become a closed-source arm of the world’s largest technology company, in violation of its mission.
The CEO of Tesla Inc and former owner of X Corp (previously Twitter) has expressed concerns about the existential threat posed by artificial general intelligence. Musk, currently the world’s wealthiest individual, stepped down from OpenAI’s board in 2018 due to philosophical disagreements about the development of the technology.
The New York Times Co vs Microsoft Corp
The New York Times filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its major investor, Microsoft Corp, last year, alleging that the startup unlawfully utilized millions of Times articles to enhance its AI tool.
The complaint claims that chatbots like ChatGPT are attempting to benefit from the Times‘s content and could potentially harm the newspaper’s revenue. In response, the tech startup accused the Times of hiring someone to manipulate its products and generate false outputs in support of their claims.
This legal battle comes at a challenging time for the media industry, as numerous news outlets have closed down or downsized, struggling to remain profitable amid declining ad revenues.
Axel Springer, other media outlets sue Google
Over 30 European media organizations, including Politico owner Axel Springer, filed a lawsuit against Google in the Netherlands on Feb 28, seeking $2.3 billion and accusing the search giant’s advertising business of violating antitrust laws.
The media groups claim that Google’s dominant position in the advertising market has affected their revenues and led to higher costs for ad tech services, according to statements from the law firms representing the plaintiffs.
The Intercept Media Inc vs OpenAI Inc and Raw Story Media Inc vs OpenAI Inc
Raw Story Media Inc, The Intercept Media Inc, and AlterNet Media Inc filed lawsuits against OpenAI in federal court in Manhattan, alleging that the company, along with Microsoft, violated the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act by using copyrighted material to train ChatGPT.
Basbanes vs Microsoft Corp
Journalist Nicholas Gage and author Nicholas Basbanes filed a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI in January, accusing the companies of using their works without permission to train AI models.
Gage has written investigative pieces for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, while Basbanes has authored books on the history of publishing.
Sancton vs OpenAI Inc
Journalist and author Julian Sancton sued OpenAI, alleging that the company used his work without authorization to train its generative AI tools. Sancton claimed that OpenAI and Microsoft disregarded authors’ rights during the development of ChatGPT.
Concord Music Group vs Anthropic PBC
A group of top music publishers, including Concord Music Group, filed a lawsuit against AI company Anthropic, accusing the Amazon-backed startup of using copyrighted lyrics from hundreds of songs through its Claude AI chatbot.
Authors Guild vs OpenAI LP
The Authors Guild of America, along with renowned writers like George R.R. Martin, filed a class-action lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that the company’s large language models engage in widespread copyright infringement. Prior to this, over 15,000 authors, including Margaret Atwood and Nora Roberts, had called on companies such as OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and IBM to compensate authors for the use of their works. – Bloomberg
