Veteran Journalists Take a Stand Against AI Copyright Infringement

Is AI stealing the work of writers? Two veteran journalists think so, and they’re taking legal action to stop it.

In this article from Fortune.com, the author explains why the lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft could have major implications for the future of creative work. According to the article, two octogenarian journalists, Nicholas Gage and Nicholas Basbanes, are suing OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing the tech giants of using their copyrighted works without permission to train AI models like ChatGPT. Both men have spent decades writing—Gage with investigative reporting and his memoir Eleni, and Basbanes with books on literary culture. Their lawsuit is part of a larger class action, with authors like John Grisham and George R. R. Martin joining in, claiming AI has been fed their works to generate human-like text, all without compensation.

The core issue is whether OpenAI’s use of vast amounts of publicly available text to “train” its models constitutes copyright infringement.

Microsoft defends this practice under the “fair use” doctrine, arguing that using publicly accessible content is permissible. But many writers and artists feel this is a form of exploitation, especially as AI becomes more capable of producing content that once required human creativity and effort.

For Gage and Basbanes, this lawsuit isn’t just about their own work—it’s about protecting the future of writing and journalism. They worry that AI could devalue the work of human writers, replacing real investigative work with AI-generated text. In their twilight years, the two journalists feel a responsibility to stand up for the integrity of creative professions and ensure that future generations of writers are fairly compensated for their contributions.