AI researcher claims Amazon ignored copyright rules

A former AI research executive at Amazon claimed the company breached its own copyright policies to train AI models.

In a lawsuit accusing her former employer of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wrongful termination, Dr Viviane Ghaderi alleged that Amazon breached copyright law and its own copyright policy in the race to stay competitive in the generative AI field. Ghaderi, who worked on Amazon’s Alexa and Large Language Model (LLM) teams, said she was instructed to ignore these policies to enhance project outcomes. 

The allegation raised questions about the legality of using copyrighted materials to train generative AI models, a practice increasingly contested with several high-profile lawsuits  filed against other technology companies. Commentators suggest this case not only challenges Amazon’s treatment of Ghaderi but also its adherence to copyright law.

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• https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/22/ghaderi_v_amazon/

• https://www.digit.fyi/ex-amazon-exec-alleges-copyright-breach-in-ai-development-race/

• https://www.androidpolice.com/lawsuit-alleges-amazon-skirted-copyright-law-to-speed-up-ai-development/

• https://www.notebookcheck.net/Amazon-AI-team-flouted-copyright-laws-to-win-arms-race-former-AI-lead-dev.831209.0.html

• https://www.hrgrapevine.com/us/content/article/2024-04-24-ex-amazon-ai-employee-claims-she-was-pressured-to-breach-internal-copyright-rules-to-avoid-falling-behind-rivals

• https://completemusicupdate.com/amazon-ai-employee-claims-she-was-told-to-breach-copyright-rules-because-everyone-else-is-doing-it/