Grammarly Disables AI Feature Over Identity Misuse Lawsuit

Grammarly, the popular writing assistance tool, has disabled its artificial intelligence feature known as Expert Review following widespread criticism and a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of misappropriating the identities of prominent writers and academics without their permission.

The feature, launched in August, allowed subscribers to receive personalized writing feedback generated by AI and attributed to influential figures such as novelist Stephen King, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, the late scientist Carl Sagan, and journalists including Julia Angwin and Casey Newton. Available only to users paying an annual subscription fee of $144, Expert Review aimed to provide subject-specific advice inspired by these experts' styles and perspectives. However, Grammarly, owned by Superhuman, did not obtain consent from the individuals involved, instead curating a list of names and using publicly available data to train its models.

The controversy erupted last week when reports highlighted the feature's use of real people's names to simulate editorial critiques, prompting an outcry from affected writers. Investigative journalist Julia Angwin, lead plaintiff in the...