Indian media pile into lawsuit against OpenAI chatbot ChatGPT

In a significant development in the world of artificial intelligence, major news organizations in India are uniting to pursue legal action against OpenAI, the American company responsible for the popular chatbot known as ChatGPT. This coalition includes some of the most established and respected publications in the country, such as The Indian Express, The Hindu, and the India Today group, along with NDTV, owned by billionaire Gautam Adani, among others. These news organizations are alleging that OpenAI has used their content without proper authorization, which has raised serious concerns about copyright infringement. OpenAI has firmly denied these allegations, asserting that it utilizes 'publicly available data' in accordance with 'widely accepted legal standards. ' On Wednesday, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, was in Delhi to discuss India's ambitions for a low-cost AI ecosystem with IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. During this visit, Altman emphasized the importance of India in the global AI landscape, stating that the country 'should be one of the leaders of the AI revolution. ' He also clarified that his previous comments from 2023, which suggested that Indian firms would struggle to compete, had been misinterpreted. Altman reiterated that India is a crucial market for AI and for OpenAI specifically. The legal case against OpenAI was initiated in November by Asian News International (ANI), which is recognized as India's largest news agency. ANI claims that ChatGPT has unlawfully utilized its copyrighted material, a charge that OpenAI disputes. ANI is seeking damages amounting to 20 million rupees, equivalent to approximately 230,000 dollars. This lawsuit is particularly noteworthy as it marks the first of its kind in India, highlighting the growing tensions between traditional media and emerging AI technologies. ChatGPT, like many other chatbots, is trained on vast datasets that are compiled by scouring the internet for information. This includes content from nearly 450 news channels and 17,000 newspapers across India, which presents a significant opportunity for AI development. However, there remains a lack of clarity regarding the legal boundaries of what material ChatGPT can collect and utilize for its training purposes. OpenAI is currently facing a multitude of lawsuits globally, filed by various publishers, artists, and news organizations, all of whom accuse the company of using their content without permission. One of the most prominent cases was lodged by a major newspaper in December 2023, which is demanding 'billions of dollars' in damages from both OpenAI and Microsoft, its financial backer. Legal experts, such as Vibhav Mithal, a lawyer specializing in artificial intelligence at the Indian law firm Anand and Anand, have noted that a ruling by any court in these cases could have significant implications for similar lawsuits worldwide. Mithal pointed out that the outcome of the ANI lawsuit could potentially 'define how these AI models will operate in the future' and clarify 'what copyrighted news content can be used to train AI generative models like ChatGPT. ' A favorable ruling for ANI could lead to an increase in legal actions against AI companies and may encourage the establishment of licensing agreements between AI developers and content creators, a practice that some companies have already begun to adopt. Conversely, a ruling in favor of OpenAI could grant the company greater freedom to utilize copyrighted material for training its AI models. ANI, which provides news to its paying subscribers, asserts that OpenAI has used its content to enhance ChatGPT without obtaining the necessary permissions. The agency argues that this has allowed OpenAI to improve its chatbot while profiting at ANI's expense. Prior to filing the lawsuit, ANI had informed OpenAI that its content was being used unlawfully and had offered to grant the company a license to use its data. However, ANI claims that OpenAI declined this offer and subsequently placed the news agency on an internal blocklist to prevent its data from being collected. Despite these measures, ANI alleges that ChatGPT continues to access its content from the websites of its subscribers, which they argue has unjustly enriched OpenAI. Furthermore, ANI contends that ChatGPT has produced its content verbatim in response to certain prompts and has inaccurately attributed statements to the news agency, which could damage its credibility and mislead the public. In addition to seeking compensation for damages, ANI has requested that the court order OpenAI to cease storing and using its work. In response, OpenAI has argued that the case should not be heard in India, as the company and its servers are not located there, and the chatbot has not been trained within the country. In December, the Federation of Indian Publishers, representing a significant portion of Indian publishers, filed an application in court to join the lawsuit, claiming they were 'directly affected' by the case and should be allowed to present their arguments. A month later, the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), which represents leading Indian news outlets, along with three other media organizations, filed a similar application. They argued that while OpenAI has entered into licensing agreements with international news publishers, such as the Associated Press and Financial Times, a similar model has not been established in India. The DNPA informed the court that the outcome of this case could impact the livelihoods of journalists and the entire news industry in the country. OpenAI, however, contends that chatbots do not serve as substitutes for news subscriptions and are not intended for such purposes. The court has yet to admit these applications from the publishers, and OpenAI has argued that the court should not consider them. Nevertheless, the judge clarified that even if these associations are permitted to argue, the court will focus solely on ANI's claims, as the other parties have not filed their own lawsuits. Meanwhile, OpenAI has communicated to the BBC that it is engaging in 'constructive partnerships and conversations' with news organizations worldwide, including those in India, to foster collaboration. Analysts believe that the lawsuits against ChatGPT could shed light on aspects of chatbots that have previously gone unexamined. Dr. Sivaramakrishnan R Guruvayur, whose research centers on the responsible use of artificial intelligence, stated that the ANI-OpenAI case will prompt the court to evaluate the data sources utilized by chatbots. Governments around the globe are grappling with the challenge of regulating AI. In 2023, Italy took action against ChatGPT, citing concerns over the chatbot's mass collection and storage of personal data. The European Union also introduced legislation to regulate AI last year. Similarly, the Indian government has announced plans to regulate AI, issuing an advisory that AI tools deemed 'under-testing' or 'unreliable' must obtain government approval before being launched. The advisory also instructed AI tools to refrain from generating responses that are illegal in India or that could 'threaten the integrity of the electoral process.