FTC Investigates OpenAI: Legal Challenges and Copyright Concerns Surrounding Generative AI
Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI
The legal landscape surrounding generative AI is rapidly intensifying as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its investigation into OpenAI, the company responsible for ChatGPT, citing concerns about the tool's inaccuracies and potential harms.
In a recent letter addressed to OpenAI, the FTC expressed its interest in examining the company's security practices alongside the tool. The letter posed numerous inquiries, including inquiries about OpenAI's AI model training methods and how it handles personal data. Additionally, a group of authors, including comedian Sarah Silverman, has filed a lawsuit against Meta and OpenAI, alleging that their copyrighted works were used without permission to train large language models such as ChatGPT.
The lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT generates summaries of the plaintiffs' copyrighted works, suggesting that the AI model must have been trained on their content. This legal case holds significance as it raises the question of whether creators can prevent their content from being utilized in AI models. It serves as a cautionary tale for users of such tools, as unwittingly incorporating copyrighted material may render them liable for misuse.
To address copyright concerns, certain AI imagery services are proactively implementing measures to mitigate potential lawsuits. Shutterstock, for instance, offers human review services to address copyright concerns, including expedited options, and provides full indemnity for its clients. On the other hand, Adobe Firefly takes a different approach by asserting that all images used in their AI training are either publicly available or owned by Adobe. They, too, offer full indemnity to users.
These legal and copyright-related challenges shed light on one of the most pressing issues in the AI domain: the unresolved matters of ownership and copyright. As the industry continues to evolve rapidly, it is crucial to monitor the developments and changes in this space, as it holds implications for AI users, creators, and the wider legal landscape.
