Ex-WSJ reporter who exposed Theranos fraud sues AI giants (nypost.com)

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, John Carreyrou, known for exposing the Theranos fraud, has launched a significant lawsuit against major players in the AI industry, including Google, OpenAI, and Elon Musk’s xAI. Together with five other authors, Carreyrou accuses these companies of illegally using their copyrighted works to train large language models for chatbots, without authorization or compensation. This case is noteworthy as it represents the first instance of xAI being named in a copyright lawsuit, underlining a broader legal movement among authors and publishers seeking accountability from AI developers regarding their data sourcing practices. The plaintiffs assert that the AI sector has largely constructed its technology on appropriated intellectual property, resulting in significant financial gains while original content creators are left empty-handed. Unlike previous high-profile cases, Carreyrou and his co-plaintiffs chose not to pursue a class-action lawsuit, believing such arrangements favor AI companies and diminish authors' rights. They emphasize that current settlement offers, such as the one involving Anthropic, provide inadequate compensation, arguing that the system allows digital platforms to escape meaningful accountability. This lawsuit could set a crucial precedent in the ongoing discourse about copyright and intellectual property in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.