One of Grammarly’s ‘experts’ is suing the company over its identity-stealing AI feature
TL;DR
Grammarly used the identities of real journalists and experts for its 'Expert Review' AI feature for months – without their consent.
Key Points
- Journalist Julia Angwin filed a class-action lawsuit after learning via colleague Casey Newton that her identity was being used commercially.
- The suit targets Superhuman (Grammarly's parent company), citing laws against using someone's identity for commercial purposes without permission.
- The Verge had previously exposed the feature, finding that even its own staff were listed as unwitting 'experts'.
Nauti's Take
Grammarly built a classic dark pattern on steroids here: real names, real reputations – but zero real consent. That's not an oversight, that's a business decision.
Especially ironic: among the 'experts' were journalists who cover tech – exactly the people who expose this kind of thing. The 'we just wanted to improve quality' defense falls flat when you're commercially monetizing someone else's identity without asking.
Context
This case illustrates how AI products can exploit real people's identities as credibility proxies – without their knowledge or consent. Grammarly didn't just breach trust; it may have systematically violated publicity rights laws. If the class-action succeeds, it could fundamentally change how AI companies are permitted to use expert identities in product features.
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