Technology has transformed every industry in the last few years with innovative platforms and applications. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of those applications that resulted in the technology revolution, attracting millions of users. Generative AI, the parent technology of AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Claude, are the talk of the town due to their state-of-the-art functionality.
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot developed and introduced by OpenAI, which is an open-source AI research and development organisation. Developed with advanced technologies, including Deep Learning (DL), computer vision, Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP) model, and more, ChatGPT has the ability to learn and train its model with users’ data, alerting creative people and authors about AI risks of copyright theft.
OpenAI is a revolutionary organisation with an ambition to transform how we interact with technology, enabling it to step into every tech industry. iPhone of AI is one of OpenAI’s projects with amazing output. OpenAI has joined hands with Microsoft in various endeavours to bring unmatched convenience for users. However, the author’s copyright suit is one of the many problems OpenAI and Microsoft face at the moment, bringing barriers to its progress.
Related: The Latest Developments about OpenAI’s Big News in 2023: OpenAI’s Significance Unveiled
Authors Filed Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Microsoft
It is an era of AI dominance, with many companies and organisations making efforts to stay on top of the chart regarding AI developments. Be it tech giants, cloud leaders, or semiconductor companies, they make strategic moves to be the industry leader and facilitate users globally. Click here to understand about the competition for AI dominance. OpenAI and Microsoft are among those companies trying to stand out from their competitors.
Julian Sancton, a nonfiction author and editor at the Hollywood Reporter, filed a class action lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft for their alleged copyright infringement of nonfiction books to train OpenAI’s AI model, specifically ChatGPT. A class action is a lawsuit representing a group of complaints with a similar cause or legal claim. Sancton, alongside John Grisham, Jonathan Franzen, and many other authors, have gone to the Manhattan Federal Court (MFC) to sue OpenAI and one of its biggest investors, Microsoft, for copyright theft.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, 21st of November 2023, where the Sancton’s attorney, Justin Nelson, called OpenAI and Microsoft rampant theft of copyrighted work, accusing them of denying paying authors despite having a lucrative AI platform. The attorney further added that the lawsuit is the result of using Sancton’s work, Madhouse at the End of the Earth, and other nonfiction books by OpenAI in its AI model to provide results to its users without the consent of the authors.
OpenAI and Microsoft Training AI Models
Though OpenAI’s spokesperson has denied the authors’ claims, labelling the lawsuit a controversy, the court trial is still due, which will conclude the case. This lawsuit is not the first time the AI research organisation has been brought to court. The AI risks have always been a nightmare for authors and content creators.
OpenAI is involved in training its models with users’ data, but it always takes care of the users’ consent, protecting users’ privacy. OpenAI uses ML algorithms to train its database with information to strengthen its AI chatbot, ChatGPT. Due to its robust AI algorithms, ChatGPT-4 is a huge success in the market, attracting several tech companies to integrate it into their products and services.
For instance, Be My Eyes uses OpenAI’s GPT-4 algorithms to help visually impaired users in their routine chores. Microsoft uses Be My Eyes’ AI to facilitate their blind customers in setting up and troubleshooting their problems. Click here to explore Microsoft’s collaboration with Be My Eyes for blind Microsoft customers.
OpenAI – Problems Disturbing the Company’s AI Venture
In less than five days, the renowned AI chatbot ChatGPT surpassed the million users mark, establishing a record among tech platforms. According to statistics, over 40 per cent of adults in the U.S. use ChatGPT for various purposes, making it one of the most important AI applications.
However, AI chatbots are allegedly involved in web scraping news and copyrighted content, making it a hazardous application for the industry. This action invites global lawmakers to tackle such alarming issues imposed by AI to ensure users’ safety and guarantee authors and creative content creators fight against copyright theft.
Quick Link: AI Chatbots Are Web Scraping News Outlets and Copyrighted Content: 7 Alarming Dangers for the Industry
This news ignited a negative energy against the renowned AI chatbot ChatGPT, making OpenAI go through myriads of problems. The organisation faces many problems, which are as follows:
1. Tough Competitive Market
Since the exorbitant success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, several other organisations have come forward with their applications to compete with the most popular AI chatbot. A few recently developed AI chatbots include Gemini AI from Google, Anthropic’s Claude 2, Grok from Elon Musk, and so on.
Understanding the swiftness of competitiveness, OpenAI has stepped into developing its own custom AI chip alongside regular updates to the existing AI chatbot to cope with the tough competition.
2. Lawsuits and Blame
OpenAI is going through a tough time, with many authors and content creators coming forward to file lawsuits against the organisation. These legal actions against OpenAI harm the company’s reputation, paving the path for competitors to progress ahead. AI copyright theft is one of the biggest reasons disturbing OpenAI’s reputation in the AI landscape.
However, the organisation fights against these lawsuits with legal litigation, providing hope to users to never stop using the most-anticipated AI chatbot, ChatGPT, and other OpenAI products.
3. Kicking Out of Sam Altman
OpenAI was going through enough problems when the company’s executive board changed and fired the face behind the success of OpenAI, Sam Altman. Sam was the CEO of OpenAI, contributing ChatGPT alongside other top-notch AI applications to the market.
The board members justified Sam Altman’s abrupt departure, blaming his leadership skills and communication as a hindrance to the organisation’s ambition. Sam joined Microsoft soon after he departed from OpenAI. However, his exit is a loss for OpenAI, causing increments in the existing problems the organisation faces.
Can OpenAI and Microsoft Withstand Their Reputation Against Lawsuits?
OpenAI is the driving force behind the global popularity of AI and other advanced technology, thanks to the amazing ChatGPT. The lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft have ignited a debate about whether these tech giants will retain their reputations or pay monetary damages for using authors’ work without their consent.
The legal trial will soon decide this matter, but these companies strive to bring positive change to the existing technology space. One of the latest updates to ChatGPT is the brand new ChatGPT Voice, which can revolutionise the experience with interactive AI.