Grammarly’s AI tool mimicked experts without their consent. Now it’s being sued

Grammarly’s new ‘Expert Review’ feature generated editing tips attributed to well-known writers and journalists.

[Photo: Tim Robberts/Getty Images]

Grammarly, the tool meant to assist with spelling, grammar, and in identifying plagiarism, is being sued for a new AI tool called “Expert Review.” The tool offers editing suggestions from established authors and writers—ostensibly not a bad idea—except that none of those people consented to being involved in the first place. 

The tool offers real-time writing tips from celebrities like Stephen King and Neil deGrasse Tyson, as well as journalists, like The Markup founder Julia Angwin, who filed the class action lawsuit against Grammarly’s parent company Superhuman, after she alleged the tool used her likeness without her permission: “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,” Angwin said in a statement.

From photorealistic deepfakes on Sora to scammers using chatbots to swindle users out of money, AI has already been bending reality and using people’s likenesses at worrying speeds. The Grammarly lawsuit shows how professional writers’ likenesses are also up for grabs—in addition to having that same technology threaten their very careers and livelihoods. This is the latest battle in the war over what legal and ethical boundaries AI should not cross. 

The federal lawsuit, which was filed in the Southern District of New York Wednesday, “challenges Grammarly’s misappropriation of the names and identities of hundreds of journalists, authors, writers, and editors to earn profits for Grammarly and its owner, Superhuman,” per court documents reviewed by Fast Company.

Angwin’s lawsuit comes as Superhuman has recently announced plans to phase out Expert Review. Shishir Mehrotra, Superhuman’s CEO, addressed the decision to remove the tool in a post on LinkedIn on Wednesday: “This kind of scrutiny improves our products, and we take it seriously.”

He continued: “As context, the agent was designed to help users discover influential perspectives and scholarship relevant to their work, while also providing meaningful ways for experts to build deeper relationships with their fans.” 

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