8 months ago
10
A story recently broke about an AI company losing a court case and being forced to pay authors over a billion dollars.
"First of its kind" AI settlement: Anthropic to pay authors $1.5 billion
They were accused of stealing copyrighted works in a practice called AI scraping. This occurs when an AI company employs illegal or unethical methods to gather information, such as downloading books from a pirate site, bypassing website “are you really a human” tests, or hacking servers.
These companies then used the illegally/unethically obtained information to develop and improve their product. The result is an AI chatbot based on a broad foundation of millions of documents.
Three authors banded together to sue an AI company. The authors were victorious in court and have established a website that allows authors to report their own copyright infringement. Unfortunately, these authors are not eligible to receive any of the settlement money — bummer.
This was a victory for authors, copyright holders, websites, and consumers. But there is a big elephant in the room. Hundreds of companies (and soon millions of individuals) are doing the same thing, and most are operating outside the bounds of justice. Shell companies, foreign countries, hacking groups, and organized crime. This is, therefore, a token victory, as the legal system cannot prevent AI scraping — double bummer.
The most remarkable aspect of this lawsuit is that usable AI technology was previously only found in science fiction. A good example is Rosey the robotic maid from the Jetsons animated television show. Then, one day, “humans” began calling us to discuss reverse mortgages. AI companies achieved this astounding feat by gathering a vast amount of information.
I guess this is the digital age where something bad can happen to millions of people and nobody notices. When someone takes action, there is a minimal response.
What does this mean for me? As a minor author and article writer, it is a minor victory, and I will savor it. Unless I magically get a million dollars to spend on my own class action lawsuit, I cannot do anything about the companies that are scraping these very words — triple bummer.
You’re the best -Bill
October 01, 2025
Hey, book lovers, I published four. Please check them out:
Interviewing Immortality. A dramatic first-person psychological thriller that weaves a tale of intrigue, suspense, and self-confrontation.
Pushed to the Edge of Survival. A drama, romance, and science fiction story about two unlikely people surviving a shipwreck and living with the consequences.
Cable Ties. A slow-burn political thriller that reflects the realities of modern intelligence, law enforcement, department cooperation, and international politics.
Saving Immortality. Continuing in the first-person psychological thriller genre, James Kimble searches for his former captor to answer his life’s questions.
These books are available in softcover on Amazon and in eBook format everywhere.
