Grammarly’s AI Identity Use Sparks Privacy Lawsuit
Journalist Julia Angwin has filed a class action lawsuit against Grammarly, accusing the company of violating privacy and publicity rights by using the identities of real writers, including Verge staff, in its AI-powered 'Expert Review' editing feature without their permission.
The complaint alleges that Grammarly’s AI edits were 'inspired by' real experts, effectively cloning their style and identity, raising ethical and legal concerns about the appropriation of personal likeness in AI training and output.
Grammarly has since disabled the 'Expert Review' feature as it reevaluates its approach to incorporating human expert input ethically and transparently.
This case spotlights growing scrutiny of AI companies over consent and identity rights, and will likely influence industry standards on AI data usage and model training practices.