Elon Musk's xAI, Meta And Google Sued By New York Times Reporter John Carreyrou Over Alleged Use Of Pirated Books To Train AI

New York Times investigative reporter John Carreyrou, along with five other authors, has filed a federal lawsuit against several leading AI companies – OpenAI, Google, Meta Platforms, Elon Musk's xAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity – alleging they illegally used copyrighted books to train their large language models without obtaining permission. The plaintiffs are seeking individual claims, rejecting a class-action approach to avoid settlements that would offer minimal compensation. The lawsuit specifically criticizes Anthropic’s recent $1.5 billion settlement, suggesting authors would receive only a small fraction of potential statutory damages.

This action comes amidst significant valuations for these AI companies: OpenAI is potentially valued at up to $830 billion, Anthropic is planning an IPO with a potential valuation exceeding $300 billion, Perplexity is valued at $20 billion, and xAI is in talks to raise $15 billion at a $230 billion valuation. The lawsuit argues that the current trajectory of class-action settlements favors the AI companies, allowing them to resolve copyright claims at a significantly reduced cost.

The authors contend that the AI companies copied their works without consent, directly contributing to the development of generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude. They aim to retain control over their cases and seek full compensation for the alleged copyright infringement, rather than accepting potentially inadequate settlements through class-action proceedings.

(Source：Benzinga)