U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr of Texas has ordered a set of regulations on using artificial intelligence in legal filings, according to The Hill. Starr's ruling stipulates that documents generated using AI be reviewed for accuracy by a human before being submitted to his court.
"These platforms," Starr notes, "are incredibly powerful and have many uses in the law: form divorces, discovery requests, suggested errors in documents, anticipated questions at oral argument. But legal briefing is not one of them."
Under the new order, attorneys appearing before Starr's court are required to file a certificate affirming that AI platforms were not involved in the creation of any part of their filing, or, alternatively, that a person has meticulously checked the language generated by AI for precision, using traditional legal databases or print reporters.
Starr wrote that AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Google's Bard are "prone to hallucinations and bias," which can make up content and can do only what they are programmed to do and lack any understanding of the human intent behind the law and ethics.
"As such," he continues, "these systems hold no allegiance to any client, the rule of law, or the laws and Constitution of the United States (or, as addressed above, the truth). Unbound by any sense of duty, honor, or justice, such programs act according to computer code rather than conviction, based on programming rather than principle."
Failure to submit the certification required by the ruling will result in the dismissal of any filings. CBS News reported that the judge's order was prompted by an incident where an attorney employed ChatGPT to draft a lawsuit. According to the report, the AI platform generated fictitious court cases and referred to them in its argument.
While AI platforms have gained increasing popularity in recent months, with several major tech companies committing to developing their own versions, critics warn of the potential adverse consequences such as "extinction" from AI.
Prominent figures in the technology sector, including Twitter owner Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, have called for a minimum six-month hiatus on AI development. They believe society should ensure its ability to effectively manage the associated risks before progressing forward.