17 prominent authors including George R.R. Martin and John Grisham are suing OpenAI, the company responsible for ChatGPT, for copyright infringement and “theft,” according to the Associated Press (AP).

The authors are among many in the creative field who are expressing concern over the ethics of AI use. A spokesperson for the Authors Guild said that it’s imperative to stop AI’s theft to preserve America’s “incredible literary culture,” according to the AP. Hillel Italie reports,

The lawsuit cites specific ChatGPT searches for each author, such as one for Martin that alleges the program generated “an infringing, unauthorized, and detailed outline for a prequel” to “A Game of Thrones” that was titled “A Dawn of Direwolves” and used “the same characters from Martin’s existing books in the series “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

-Hillel Italie, ‘Game of Thrones’ creator and other authors sue ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for copyright infringement (msn.com)

OpenAI has seen a spate of similar lawsuits in recent months alleging violations of intellectual and creative property. While the tech company remains optimistic about its developing conversations with the Authors Guild, it’s evident that many creatives are not satisfied with the current status quo regarding AI, and are demanding guardrails and change.