A class action lawsuit has been filed against Grammarly, a popular writing assistant tool, for allegedly using the names and likenesses of renowned authors and experts without their consent. Journalist Julia Angwin, known for her investigations into technology’s impact on privacy, initiated the suit against Superhuman, the parent company of Grammarly, following the controversial release of its new feature called “Expert Review.”
Subscribers paying $144 per year have access to the premium “Expert Review” feature. This new feature, powered by artificial intelligence, gives you real-time simulated editorial feedback. As Angwin emphasizes, the feature misleads users by giving them the wrong impression. It leads them to believe that they are in turn receiving eviscerations from celebrities including Stephen King, Carl Sagan, and Kara Swisher. Grammarly relied on millions of words produced by hundreds of thousands of experts but without their explicit permission. This may raise significant ethical and legal concerns.
Angwin’s lawsuit says that in so doing, Grammarly has violated the privacy rights of Angwin and other writers. She claims that the company has illegally mimicked them. In the complaint, Platformer describes several examples in which users were sent cursory feedback from accounts that claimed to be well-known journalists. For example, tech journalist Casey Newton tested the feature by submitting one of his articles, only to receive feedback that mimicked Kara Swisher’s style but lacked substance.
“Could you briefly compare how daily AI users versus AI skeptics articulate risk, creating a through-line readers can follow?” – Grammarly’s approximation of Kara Swisher
This lawsuit dives into the dangerous impacts of using authors’ identities without approval. It brings to the forefront the very real risk of reputational and economic harm. Angwin expressed her distress over the situation, stating, “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.”
The debate over Grammarly got even hotter when our #1 critic, Kara Swisher, came to the rescue. In a text message to Newton about the feature, she expressed her disapproval of what she termed “rapacious information and identity thieves,” warning that she would take significant action against them.
“You rapacious information and identity thieves better get ready for me to go full McConaughey on you,” – Kara Swisher
In reaction to this growing pushback, Grammarly proclaimed on LinkedIn that it would be disabling the “Expert Review” feature that triggered all the hubbub. Superhuman CEO Shishir Mehrotra swatted this one down last week, as the backlash ramped up. Many writers are celebrating the removal of the feature as a win. They were upset because they felt like their identities had been appropriated without their permission.