Over the last year, artificial intelligence and its use in various work sectors have been talked about very often. The most involved, in recent times, has been television and cinema.
For those who don’t know, OpenAI is the company behind the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT. The company’s AI models are “trained” using large data sets that help them learn to imitate human writing. Exactly for this reason, The Authors Guildtogether with the famous George R.R. Martin and other well-known names, are protesting strongly against the system.
According to Deadline, The Authors Guild and a group of famous authors, including George R.R. Martin, have filed a class-action lawsuit against OpenAI for using their copyrighted works as “training data”
The authors, including John Grisham and Michael Connelly in addition to the aforementioned Martin, claim that their works have been used without their permission and that authors have the right to choose to use their works and to be compensated for that data. Below is the complete list of plaintiffs included in the class action complaint:
“The Authors Guild, David Baldacci, Mary Bly, Michael Connelly, Sylvia Day, Jonathan Franzen, John Grisham, Elin Hilderbrand, Christine Baker Kline, Maya Shanbhag Lang, Victor LaValle, George RR Martin, Jodi Picoult, Douglas Preston, Roxana Robinson, George Saunders, Scott Turow and Rachel Vail, individually and on behalf of others in a similar situation.”
Although this lawsuit specifically concerns written works, such as novels and short stories, the outcome of this case could have lasting implications across many creative disciplines. For example, many of these authors also wield great power in the film and television industries. In addition to George RR Martin, who with Game of Thrones built a formidable empire for the television broadcaster HBO, Michael Connelly is the author of The Lincoln Lawyer (broadcast with its two seasons on the streaming platform Netflix) and many other authors of the list have seen their works adapted to the screen several times.
The outcome of this class action could potentially already cover all adapted works by these authors. However, it could also be the prelude to a series of similar causes in different fields. The creative community’s opposition to the use of AI in their industries has already been well documented, as regulation is a major issue at the heart of both ongoing strikes in Hollywood, as well as the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA ) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) fighting for fair compensation.
It remains to be seen how this lawsuit will end. However, with the rise of famous names such as George RR Martin, public awareness of ethical regulation is set to increase. The situation hasn’t reached a boiling point yet, but this lawsuit is another sign that things are heating up.