January 7, 2024 Nonfiction authors Nicholas Basbanes and Nicholas Gage have filed a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI, alleging copyright infringement. The lawsuit claims the defendants used the authors’ copyrighted works to develop a billion-dollar AI system. This follows a similar suit by The New York Times against Microsoft and OpenAI, creators of the AI chatbot ChatGPT.

Key Points from the Lawsuit:

• Alleged Infringement:The authors assert that their works were used without permission to train large language models, including ChatGPT.
• Class Action Claim: Basbanes and Gage seek to represent a class of authors whose works have been similarly used by the defendants.
• Damages Sought: The lawsuit demands up to $150,000 in damages for each infringed work.
• Broader Implications: This case joins a growing list of legal challenges to AI developers over the use of copyrighted material in training AI models.

OpenAI is reportedly trying to negotiate with a number of publishers, perhaps hoping to avoid further lawsuits.