February 27, 2024 OpenAI has challenged the New York Times’ copyright lawsuit, asserting the newspaper manipulated ChatGPT to fabricate evidence. The company argues this act violated its terms of use and misrepresented the capabilities of its AI.

OpenAI went so far as to allege that their AI had been “hacked” urging a federal judge to dismiss parts of the lawsuit. They did not provide any evidence of an actual hack of the AI.

The controversy highlights ongoing debates over AI’s use of copyrighted content and its fair use in the burgeoning technology sector. OpenAI has steadfastly maintained that AI cannot be developed without the ability to read copyrighted material but that what it is doing should be regarded as “fair use.”

So far, no court has actually held that AI had infringed copyright, with most cases ruling that there was not sufficient evidence that the copyrighted works had been copied.

This case is pivotal. It could set a precedent for how AI and copyright law intersect, especially as other copyright holders have also initiated legal actions against tech firms for similar reasons. The outcome may influence future AI development and the legal landscape surrounding digital content creation and usage.

Sources include: Reuters