PeopleofSuperintelligence

Public voice

Andrea Bartz

Also known as Andi, @andibartz

Andrea Bartz is a journalist and thriller author whose copyright case against Anthropic centers on books used to train Claude. She earns journalism degrees at Northwestern, edits Psychology Today, and publishes her debut, The Lost Night, in 2019. In August 2024, she joins two authors in a class-action suit; in June 2025, the court rules that AI training on the books is fair use and that storing pirated copies infringes copyright. Anthropic agrees to a $1.5 billion settlement in September 2025, and a judge approves it in July 2026. TIME includes Bartz on its TIME100 AI list in 2026; as of October 2026, she is a journalist and bestselling author with a speculative AI thriller scheduled for May 2027.

Photo of Andrea Bartz

Timeline

  1. 2005–2019

    Journalism and first novel

    She writes A&E and news-analysis articles for Milwaukee's Shepherd Express from 2005 to 2006. She earns B.S. and M.S. degrees in journalism at Northwestern's Medill School in 2008, then edits Psychology Today's research section and recruits researchers to blog from 2010 to 2011. Penguin Random House publishes her debut, The Lost Night, in 2019.

  2. August 2024

    Bartz v. Anthropic

    In August 2024, she joins Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson in a class-action copyright suit against Anthropic. Their complaint alleges the company used pirated books to train Claude.

  3. May 2025

    The Last Ferry Out

    In May 2025, she publishes The Last Ferry Out as her fifth book.

  4. June 2025

    A fair-use ruling

    On June 23, 2025, Judge William Alsup rules that Anthropic's use of books to train Claude is fair use. He finds that storing more than seven million pirated books in the company's central library infringes the authors' copyrights.

  5. September 2025

    A $1.5 billion settlement

    Anthropic agrees in September 2025 to pay $1.5 billion to settle the authors' class action over pirated books used to train Claude.

  6. July 2026

    Final settlement approval

    In July 2026, a federal judge grants final approval to the $1.5 billion Bartz v. Anthropic settlement.

  7. 2026

    Named to TIME100 AI

    TIME includes Bartz on its TIME100 AI list in 2026. She welcomes the chance to speak about holding AI companies accountable.

  8. As of October 2026

    Journalist and thriller author

    As of October 2026, she is a journalist and New York Times bestselling thriller author. Her speculative AI thriller, Delete Your Account, is scheduled for publication in May 2027.

Sources and credits

Photo: andreabartz.com; About Andi – Andrea Bartz; creator not stated. License: Not stated by source. Source: andreabartz.com. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.

  1. Résumé – Andrea Bartz andreabartz.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz: 9780525574729 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books penguinrandomhouse.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Authors sue Anthropic for copyright infringement over AI training theguardian.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Andrea Bartz Knows Thrillers Have More to Offer Than ‘Escapism’ elle.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Anthropic did not breach copyright when training AI on books without permission, court rules theguardian.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. AI startup Anthropic agrees to pay $1.5bn to settle book piracy lawsuit theguardian.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. Judge signs off on Anthropic’s $1.5bn book piracy settlement, the biggest in US copyright history thenextweb.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. Andrea Bartz (@andibartz): “Proud to be included on TIME’s list of the TIME100 AI of 2026!” substack.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  9. About Andi – Andrea Bartz andreabartz.com. Checked 14 October 2026.