Microsoft’s implementation of OpenAI’s ChatGPT was extremely popular. Its surprise implementation of the advanced generative AI caught Google and Apple by surprise.
Google has responded aggressively by spinning up Bard, its own generative AI system. However, both Google and AI face class-action suits alleging that copyright violations were committed in training AIs using the vast amounts of data they used.
These plaintiffs are likely unaware of the potential consequences to their careers if they win. I am not talking about the repercussions of Microsoft, Google, or other companies, but the fact that their training could also be a factor in any ruling, and they may face future lawsuits from those from whom they have learned.
This week, we will explore the possibility of suing companies that use generative AI. We’ll also close with the Product of the Week: a new HP laptop, which may be ideal for those who travel for work frequently
Litigation Is Dangerous
Unfortunately, I have a lot of litigation experience. I worked for IBM Legal in the contracts department for several years, then managed my own litigation over a period of two decades. On several occasions, I have been called an expert witness. I was also a lawyer for a while before changing careers.
I learned that litigation doesn’t look like what is shown on television. The judge or jury will listen to each side’s arguments before selecting the best one. The losing side feels cheated and vindicated.
It can lead to unintended and grave consequences for the losing party that are far worse than if they had just left it alone or settled the case without a trial. Appeals cost about $40,000 on average and are seldom successful. Initial trial costs can vary from $10,000 to hundreds and thousands of dollars before judgment. Judgments are often very expensive, and on top of judgments suing anyone, you should assess whether you have a good chance of winning and consider any unintended consequences that may result from either winning or losing. The people who are suing the generative AI platform are in a bad situation because not only are they unlikely to win, but if they do win it could cost them their career.
Let me explain,
How are Generative AI Tracerers? The AI that generates is trained using massive amounts of data.
AIs are able to observe digital data in a way that makes it impossible for individual contributors to be identified. This observation leads to an amalgamation of knowledge, which is the AI’s “brain”.
It should be impossible, depending on the size.” and complexity of the data set — if there are no transparency tools in the AIS that have been released recently — to track the behavior of the individual who provided the data.
For example, to learn how to become a comedian, you might need a set of audio and video broadcasts from many comedians. The AI will then be able to determine which jokes are funny based on the feedback of the audience and a trainer. The AI would then create its comedy routine based on what it had learned without depending solely on one person.
The question is whether or not the result violates the copyright of anyone intentionally, and with the copyright option, helped create the dataset for training.
The Unanticipated Problem
We are not born knowing how to do many things. We learn from observing others and reading about people and events that were either real or fictionally created to entertain or make a point.
We tend to copy other comedians when it comes to stand-up humor. It is easy to learn from peers in the comedy industry. Humans don’t have enough time or mental capacity to absorb information from many mentors. Computers can take in thousands of people at once.
If computer learning from a large number of comedians is illegal, then wouldn’t a human comedian who learned from fewer comedians also be violating the rights of their peers? AI and people are learning at different speeds and with varying amounts of data.
If those who sue OpenAI and Google are successful, they could face expensive penalties if the same caselaw is used against them.
As most of the work we do is derived from others’ observational work who have been trained using data that the plaintiff created to sue these plaintiffs succeed, could other comedians then sue them for similar training methods? And some comedians might be banned from performing if their jokes appeared to be from others who want to be compensated as well?
Wrapping up
The pace at which the Generative A. learns and advances is incredible. It’s trained using vast data sets that could contain vital information about you and your spouse. The training process will be questioned because the systems are likely to replace many people who have unintentionally provided their data.
This concept is ill-conceived, and it could negatively impact anyone who uses others’ knowledge in the future.
The training set is also immortal, which means that it will continue to exist for many centuries even after the contributor has died. This gives the knowledge a limited digital immortality.
In the end, I do not believe that the plaintiffs will win these cases, and if they do, the verdict could have a far greater impact on how we train than expected.
HP Dragonfly Laptop PC G4
The HP Folio laptop, with Qualcomm technology, is my favorite laptop because of its huge 21-hour battery. HP then released an Intel-based Folio geared towards business, with a battery life of only six hours. This broke my heart. HP’s new Dragonfly g4, also Intel-based, should have a battery life of around 13 hours.
The HP Dragonfly G4 is a business-class laptop that offers decent performance but not much. It is also a premium-class business notebook. It has Intel’s VPro solution to ensure compliance with corporate standards.
This laptop is very well-built, has an impressive webcam and speakers, and displays colors with surprising accuracy. The Dragonfly G4 has two unique features: “auto-camera-control” and “auto-keystone.”
First, you can use multiple cameras at the same time when streaming. This allows both your face and the objects that make your face appear in the same picture. You can view objects at an angle using the second camera, but they will appear as if it was straight above.
These two features will be used for many video conference attendees who struggle to display content. I’m surprised that other PC OEMs didn’t do something similar.
HP’s Dragonfly G4 weighs 2.2 pounds and is ultra-light. You won’t feel like Quasimodo if you carry it in your bag. The HP Dragonfly G4 also comes with a variety of screens, WAN options and Intel processors.
