Salesforce is facing a significant class action lawsuit alleging the company improperly trained its XGen artificial intelligence models using copyrighted materials. According to legal filings, the technology firm utilized nearly 200,000 pirated books to develop its machine learning systems without proper authorization from copyright holders.
The complaint details that Salesforce subsequently removed public disclosures regarding the training data sources after the alleged infringement occurred. Legal representatives for the authors argue this constitutes systematic copyright violation on a substantial scale, potentially affecting thousands of writers and publishers whose works were used without compensation or permission.
This legal challenge emerges amid growing scrutiny of how technology companies source training data for their artificial intelligence systems. The case could establish important precedents regarding intellectual property rights in the rapidly evolving field of machine learning development. Industry observers note that the outcome may influence how technology firms approach data acquisition and transparency in their AI development processes moving forward.
Salesforce has yet to issue a formal statement addressing the specific allegations. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for the affected authors and potentially could impact how the broader technology industry approaches training data sourcing for artificial intelligence systems.
