OpenAI may soon be forced to explain why it deleted a pair of controversial datasets composed of pirated books, and the stakes could not be higher. At the heart of a class-action lawsuit from authors alleging that ChatGPT was illegally trained on their works, OpenAI’s decision to delete the datasets could end up being a deciding factor that gives the authors the win.
Source: OpenAI desperate to avoid explaining why it deleted pirated book datasets
OpenAI must produce millions of anonymized chat logs from ChatGPT users in its high-stakes copyright dispute with the New York Times and other news outlets, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled. U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona Wang in a decision made public on Wednesday that the 20 million logs were relevant to the outlets’ claims and that handing them over would not risk violating users’ privacy.Source: OpenAI loses fight to keep ChatGPT logs secret in copyright case
The newspaper alleged Perplexity AI had distributed and displayed journalists’ work without permission en masse. The Times said that Perplexity AI was also violating its trademarks under the Lanham Act, claiming the startup’s generative AI products create fabricated content, or “hallucinations”, and falsely attribute them to the newspaper by displaying them alongside its registered trademarks.
Source: New York Times sues AI startup for ‘illegal’ copying of millions of articles
Can an ISP be held liable for piracy simply by “doing nothing”? Yesterday, the Supreme Court addressed this billion-dollar question. While record labels argued that Cox turned a blind eye to “habitual abusers,” the ISP warned that expanding liability without proof of active intent would turn internet providers into “Internet Police” and threaten essential access for hospitals, schools, or even entire towns.
Source: Supreme Court: Can ISPs Be Liable For Piracy By Doing Nothing? * TorrentFreak
A legal battle that began over a Sarah Connor album posted on a German pirate site has escalated into a landmark case that will shape EU copyright law. The lawsuit between Universal Music and Cloudflare has reached the highest German court, which recently asked the EU’s top court to step in. At stake is the legal definition of “temporary caching” and whether CDNs face the same liability risks as content platforms.
The EU on Wednesday unveiled new proposals to simplify AI and privacy regulations, drawing fire from the tech sector for not going far enough and consumer groups for bowing to Big Tech. The EU Commission’s “Digital Omnibus”, which faces debate and votes from European countries, proposed to delay stricter rules on use of AI in “high-risk” areas until late 2027, ease rules around cookies and enable more use of data.Source: EU eases AI, privacy rules as critics warn of caving to Big Tech
Generative artificial intelligence can now counterfeit reality at an industrial scale. Deepfakes—photographs, videos and audio tracks that use AI to create convincing but entirely fabricated representations of people or events—aren’t just an Internet content problem; they are a social-order problem. The power of AI to create words and images that seem real but aren’t threatens society, critical thinking and civilizational stability.
News publishers have celebrated a victory in the first stage of their copyright lawsuit against Canadian AI start-up Cohere. A judge has rejected in full Cohere’s motion to dismiss, saying publishers had “adequately alleged” that outputs from the AI provider were “quantitatively and qualitatively similar” to their content. Some 14 news and magazine publishers are involved in the case, which was filed in February.
Source: News publishers win first round of copyright claim against AI start-up Cohere
In a significant shift, policymakers in Brussels are moving to scale back and simplify landmark rules for artificial intelligence and data privacy. Driven by growing concern that overregulation is stifling economic growth, officials and business leaders across the 27-nation bloc are questioning whether Europe’s digital rulebook has gone too far and left companies lagging the United States and China.
In February, more than 1,000 artists – including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox of Eurythmics, and Damon Albarn of Blur and The Gorillaz – released a “silent album” in protest against the UK government’s proposed changes to copyright law. Now the album is being released on vinyl, with a bonus track – a recording of an empty studio – from Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney. protesting UK AI copyright law proposal