Don’t Let ChatGPT Write So Much Fan Fiction
Authors can put up with a little mild copyright infringement from their superfans, but not acres of text generated by bots.
Writing at a human pace.
Photographer: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty ImagesThe most interesting part of the Hollywood writers’ new contract is the AI clause. According to news reports, it explicitly allows the studios to “train” large language models on scripts written by members of the Writers Guild. The agreement implies that permission to train an LLM on a writer’s works has value. It follows that the right must be purchased from the writer — not simply taken.
Which brings us to the copyright infringement lawsuit filed last week by leading members of the Authors Guild against OpenAI, the company behind GPT-3.4 and GPT4 (with more on the way). Although the complaint lists several violations, the major ones come down to two: First, that OpenAI has violated authors’ copyrights by training its programs on scanned copies of published works; and, second, that by enabling users to create what amounts to fan fiction on steroids, OpenAI has contributed to violations by others.