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This Grammarly Feature Stole Writers' Voices – Now There's a $5M Class Action
Grammarly built AI clones of Stephen King, Carl Sagan, and hundreds of journalists, then charged users $12 a month for "expert writing feedback" from those clones. Not one of those writers consented, was paid, or was even told their name and voice were being sold. Some tested their own AI clones and found them giving advice bad enough to damage their professional reputations. The company's response: email us to be removed from something you never joined.
That set off a $5 million class-action lawsuit, with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Julia Angwin as lead plaintiff. CEO Shishir Mehrotra issued a public apology that mostly amounted to a defense of the feature. Juan was a former Grammarly brand ambassador and has since parted ways with the company.
What does Grammarly's desperate AI pivot tell us about where SaaS is headed? When Big Tech decides your work is inventory, what do you actually own?
Disclosure: Juan was a Grammarly brand ambassador and has since parted ways with the company.
ABOUT SLOP WORLD
AI news with receipts. Juan Faisal and Kate Cook fact-check the claims Big Tech is making about AI, follow the money, and break down what it actually means for your job, your data, and your daily life. From leaked data and corporate cover-ups to AI schools, stolen identities, and layoff headlines that don't add up, we cover the AI stories that everyone's hyping but nobody's verifying. New episodes every Thursday.
DISCLAIMER
All content is commentary and opinion based on publicly available documents, interviews, and verifiable sources. References to "scams," "grifts," or related terms reflect our editorial opinion, not legal conclusions. Anyone featured who believes a statement is inaccurate may contact us.
CHAPTERS
00:00 What If Someone Was Already Selling Your Voice?
00:21 Meet the Billion-Dollar Company That Did It
01:18 I Used to Work with Grammarly. Here's What Changed.
02:32 Stephen King, Carl Sagan, and a $12/Month Price Tag on Your Identity
03:04 The $5M Lawsuit and the CEO Apology That Made It Worse
05:25 They Never Asked. They Never Told Anyone. The Damage Was Real.
07:03 Grammarly Says the Lawsuit Has No Merit
08:35 Big Tech Already Decided Who Owns Your Work
12:00 They Take Your Work... Then Sell It Back to You
View all episodes
By Juan Faisal / Kate CookGrammarly built AI clones of Stephen King, Carl Sagan, and hundreds of journalists, then charged users $12 a month for "expert writing feedback" from those clones. Not one of those writers consented, was paid, or was even told their name and voice were being sold. Some tested their own AI clones and found them giving advice bad enough to damage their professional reputations. The company's response: email us to be removed from something you never joined.
That set off a $5 million class-action lawsuit, with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Julia Angwin as lead plaintiff. CEO Shishir Mehrotra issued a public apology that mostly amounted to a defense of the feature. Juan was a former Grammarly brand ambassador and has since parted ways with the company.
What does Grammarly's desperate AI pivot tell us about where SaaS is headed? When Big Tech decides your work is inventory, what do you actually own?
Disclosure: Juan was a Grammarly brand ambassador and has since parted ways with the company.
ABOUT SLOP WORLD
AI news with receipts. Juan Faisal and Kate Cook fact-check the claims Big Tech is making about AI, follow the money, and break down what it actually means for your job, your data, and your daily life. From leaked data and corporate cover-ups to AI schools, stolen identities, and layoff headlines that don't add up, we cover the AI stories that everyone's hyping but nobody's verifying. New episodes every Thursday.
DISCLAIMER
All content is commentary and opinion based on publicly available documents, interviews, and verifiable sources. References to "scams," "grifts," or related terms reflect our editorial opinion, not legal conclusions. Anyone featured who believes a statement is inaccurate may contact us.
CHAPTERS
00:00 What If Someone Was Already Selling Your Voice?
00:21 Meet the Billion-Dollar Company That Did It
01:18 I Used to Work with Grammarly. Here's What Changed.
02:32 Stephen King, Carl Sagan, and a $12/Month Price Tag on Your Identity
03:04 The $5M Lawsuit and the CEO Apology That Made It Worse
05:25 They Never Asked. They Never Told Anyone. The Damage Was Real.
07:03 Grammarly Says the Lawsuit Has No Merit
08:35 Big Tech Already Decided Who Owns Your Work
12:00 They Take Your Work... Then Sell It Back to You