Grammarly sued over AI feature using writers' likenesses

Journalist Julia Angwin has filed a class action lawsuit against Superhuman, the parent company of Grammarly, alleging the unauthorized use of writers’ identities in an artificial intelligence feature. A class action lawsuit is a legal mechanism that allows one or more plaintiffs to sue on behalf of a larger group of affected individuals. This legal action allows other writers to join Angwin in her case against the company. The lawsuit claims that Grammarly released an “Expert Review” feature last week that used AI to simulate editorial feedback from experts without their permission. The tool simulated critiques from writers, including tech journalist Kara Swisher, without obtaining consent from the experts included in the feature.

The “Expert Review” feature was available to subscribers paying $144 a year. Following the public backlash, Grammarly has disabled the feature, according to Superhuman CEO Shishir Mehrotra. Although Mehrotra offered an apology, he defended the concept behind the tool. He urged people to imagine a professor sharpening an essay, a sales leader reshaping a pitch, or a leading expert elevating a proposal, framing the feature as an opportunity for experts to build a ubiquitous bond with users.

The lawsuit and public backlash center on the unauthorized simulation of expert feedback. Angwin expressed distress over the tool. “I have worked for decades honing my skills as a writer and editor, and I am distressed to discover that a tech company is selling an imposter version of my hard-earned expertise,” said Julia Angwin, a journalist. Other critics of the technology, such as AI ethicist Timnit Gebru and Platformer founder Casey Newton, were also included in the feature without consent. When Newton tested the tool by inputting an article, it generated feedback from an AI approximation of Swisher. Newton shared the response with Swisher, who described the company as rapacious information and identity thieves and added that they suck.

Why it matters

The lawsuit highlights the growing legal and ethical friction between AI companies training models on proprietary content and the creators whose work and identities are being simulated without permission.