An individual creating content on YouTube is looking to initiate a class action lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming that the company used millions of transcripts from YouTube videos to train their generative AI models without informing or compensating the owners of the videos.
In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, David Millette, a YouTube user from Massachusetts, alleges that OpenAI secretly transcribed videos of Millette and other creators to train the AI models powering ChatGPT, OpenAI’s chatbot platform, and other generative AI tools. The complaint states that OpenAI profited from this data without consent, acknowledgment, or compensation, thereby violating copyright laws and YouTube’s terms of service.
Represented by the law firm Bursor and Fisher, Millette is seeking a jury trial and over $5 million in damages on behalf of all YouTube users whose data might have been used by OpenAI for training.
Generative AI models, like those from OpenAI, lack actual intelligence. These models are trained on vast amounts of data, such as movies, voice recordings, and essays in order to learn patterns and probabilities of data occurrences.
The rise of content blocking indicates a growing concern. Around 35% of the top 1,000 websites worldwide currently block OpenAI’s web crawler, and a study by MIT suggests that about 25% of high-quality data sources are being restricted, potentially leading to an impending shortage of data to train generative AI models by 2026-2032.
Reports have shown that companies like OpenAI, Apple, Salesforce, and Nvidia have used data from YouTube videos for training their AI models. Several creators were unaware of their subtitles being used for this purpose. Google has also expanded its terms of service to allow for more access to user data for training generative AI models.
OpenAI and Google have been approached for comments on the class action lawsuit, and further information will be provided if they respond.
The month started off on a challenging note for OpenAI, as Elon Musk filed a new lawsuit alleging that the company has shifted from its initial nonprofit mission and is now supplying advanced technology to commercial clients, including allegations of racketeering activity.
