Ukrainian “unicorn” Grammarly finds itself in a legal scandal over a new AI feature
Grammarly, a service founded by Ukrainians in 2009, has been hit by lawsuits over the use of people’s names and personalities in a new AI tool without their consent. This is reported by WIRED.
Grammarly, an AI-powered text editing platform, was founded by Maksym Lytvyn, Oleksiy Shevchenko, and Dmytro Lider and has gained global recognition. In 2019, the company’s capitalization reached $1 billion, giving it the status of a “unicorn.” The service is currently based in New York, USA.
Grammarly recently introduced an “expert review” feature that allowed users to receive feedback from an AI model that mimicked the style of famous scientists, writers, and journalists, including Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Stephen King.
A class action lawsuit was filed in the Southern District Court of New York by several companies, including The Markup, a media outlet that covers the impact of technology on society. The plaintiffs estimate damages at more than $5 million and demand that Grammarly be prohibited from using people’s names and attributing advice and statements generated by AI to them. The feature has now been removed from the platform.
