Chatbots like ChatGPT have been celebrated for their ability to provide thorough answers to complex questions in recent months — but some are questioning where exactly the technology gets its information.
Now two authors who claim ChatGPT creator OpenAI used their copyrighted books to train its bot without their consent are suing the company, CNBC reported.
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Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World, and Mona Awad, author of Bunny and 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl, allege that ChatGPT‘s “very accurate summaries” of their works result from the bot’s unauthorized training on their books, which would violate copyright laws, per the complaint.
The lawsuit was filed with a San Francisco federal court and alleges that “much” of OpenAI’s training data stems from copyrighted materials. “At no point did ChatGPT reproduce any of the copyright management information Plaintiffs included with their published works,” the complaint read.
OpenAI won’t reveal its specific data sources but acknowledges that ChatGPT’s web crawling includes using archived books and Wikipedia, according to CNBC.
Related: How Can Marketers Use ChatGPT? Here Are the Top 11 Uses.
Many experts believe these lawsuits are just the start of the AI industry‘s legal battles, Rolling Stone reported. Another “wide-ranging” suit filed on Wednesday highlights AI’s “existential” threat, per the outlet.