The National Post reports in its Thursday, Sept. 21, edition that 17 top American authors are suing Microsoft-backed OpenAI for "systematic theft on a mass scale," the latest in a wave of legal action by writers concerned that artificial intelligence programs are using their copyrighted works without permission. An Associated Press dispatch to the Post reports that the authors alleged "flagrant and harmful infringements of plaintiffs' registered copyrights" and called the ChatGPT program a "massive commercial enterprise" that is reliant upon "systematic theft on a mass scale." The suit was organized by the Authors Guild. Earlier this month, a handful of authors that included Michael Chabon and David Henry Hwang sued OpenAI in San Francisco for "clear infringement of intellectual property." In August, OpenAI asked a federal judge in California to dismiss two similar lawsuits, one involving comedian Sarah Silverman and another from author Paul Tremblay. In a court filing, OpenAI said the claims "misconceive the scope of copyright, failing to take into account the limitations and exceptions (including fair use) that properly leave room for innovations like the large language models now at the forefront of AI."