In a recent lawsuit, Meta has been accused of using pirated books to train its AI models, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s approval. As per Ars Technica, the lawsuit filed by authors including Ta-Nehisi Coates and Sarah Silverman in a California federal court, cite internal Meta communications indicating that the company utilized the Library Genesis (LibGen) dataset—a vast online repository known for hosting pirated books—despite internal concerns about the legality of using such material.
The authors argue that Meta’s actions infringe upon their copyrights and could undermine the company’s position with regulators. They claim that Meta’s AI models, including Llama, were trained using their works without permission, potentially harming their livelihoods. Meta has defended its practices by invoking the “fair use” doctrine, asserting that using publicly available materials to train AI tools is legal in certain cases, such as “using text to statistically model language and generate original expression.”
Unsealed court documents from February 5th, 2024, in Kadrey v. Meta show Meta (formerly Facebook) illegally torrented 81.7TB of data from "shadow libraries" such as Anna's Archive, Z-Library, and LibGen to train Meta artificial intelligence.
Highlights include:
– A senior AI… pic.twitter.com/Bqf60Hhbb6
— vx-underground (@vxunderground) February 8, 2025
One internal message highlighted in the lawsuit quotes an employee expressing discomfort, stating, “Torrenting from a corporate laptop doesn’t feel right.”
In response to the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria dismissed some claims but allowed the authors to amend their complaint to include new allegations, including those related to the removal of copyright management information. This case is part of a broader wave of legal challenges against tech companies like Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic, where authors and creators are seeking to protect their intellectual property rights in the face of rapidly advancing AI technologies.
The outcome of this lawsuit could have significant implications for the tech industry, particularly concerning the use of copyrighted materials in AI training. It raises important questions about the balance between technological innovation and the protection of creators’ rights.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.