OpenAI Hit with Proposed Class Action Lawsuit, Accused of Shocking Data Theft

OpenAI, the company behind the popular ChatGPT app, is being accused of stealing and misappropriating vast amounts of data from internet users to train its artificial intelligence algorithms, leading to a proposed class action lawsuit. The lawsuit, which was filed in a California federal court, claims that OpenAI improperly obtained extensive user data without permission, approval, or pay. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the lawsuit and its potential outcomes, including the allegations made against OpenAI.

A lawsuit of around 160 pages alleges that OpenAI scraped massive amounts of personal data from the internet. The complaint alleges that OpenAI illegally spied on practically all internet traffic without the knowledge or consent of its users. Hundreds of millions of people, including children, who use the internet have accused a large firm of illegally harvesting their personal data through a process called “data mining.”

OpenAI put everyone in an incalculable risk zone by misappropriating personal data of millions and using it to develop an unstable, untested technology, according to Timothy K. Giordano, a partner at Clarkson, the law firm behind the suit.

It is made clear throughout the case how extensive OpenAI’s claimed data theft actually was. The company has been accused of stealing sensitive information from individuals across the internet without their knowledge or consent, and then selling or giving away that information. Concerns have been raised about OpenAI’s dedication to data protection and use given the possibility that the business used this data to train its artificial intelligence technology.

In the planned class action case, the plaintiffs are asking for an injunction barring any further sales of OpenAI software. As a kind of monetary recompense, the lawsuit requests “data dividends” for everybody whose data was used in the training and development of OpenAI’s technology. The lawsuit was brought to ensure that the victims be adequately reimbursed by OpenAI for the stolen data.

Microsoft, a major funder of OpenAI, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The IT behemoth has not yet responded to the allegations. Some in the IT community are worried about Microsoft’s image because of the company’s close relationship with OpenAI, which has been tied to data harvesting allegations.

Media and user curiosity were piqued by the debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT tool. The tool’s popularity stems from the “AI arms race” that ensued when its capacity to mimic human behavior attracted users. The class action lawsuit threatens OpenAI’s reputation and calls into question the company’s data security practices. The outcome of this case could have far-reaching implications for OpenAI’s future intentions.

The case brought against OpenAI shows how vitally important it is to conduct AI research and development in an ethical manner. As AI matures, it will become increasingly important for companies to prioritize the ethical collection of data and the safeguarding of customers’ personal information. This could serve as a model for future cases involving data theft and exploitation by AI companies.

First reported on CNN

Originally published on ReadWrite.