New Mexico lawyer fined for using AI-generated brief containing fabricated police testimony
Stephen Aarons said he tried to use ChatGPT to create a ‘bulletproof summary’ during a murder conviction appeal A defense lawyer appealing his client’s murder conviction submitted a legal brief containing made-up police testimony and witnesses fabricated by OpenAI ’s ChatGPT, New Mexico ’s highest court said. The New Mexico supreme court on Wednesday fined the attorney, Stephen Aarons, and held…
A defense lawyer, Stephen Aarons, has been fined and held in contempt by the New Mexico Supreme Court for submitting a legal brief containing fabricated police testimony and witnesses. The brief was prepared with the help of OpenAI's ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence application. According to the court, the filing contained false testimony from wholly fabricated witnesses.
Aarons had used ChatGPT to summarize the trial proceedings when he agreed to take up the defendant's appeal last year. He claimed he did not understand the degree to which AI could "hallucinate" facts. The court fined Aarons $5,000 and referred him to an attorney disciplinary board for investigation. The panel also noted that Aarons had demonstrated a lack of remorse and concern for his client, as per the Economic Times Tech.
The incident highlights the risks of relying on AI tools in legal work. Aarons expressed remorse, stating it was an honest mistake, and hoped the disciplinary board would take this into account. The court's sanction is one of several cases where lawyers have been disciplined for submitting court documents generated by AI tools without proper verification.
Brief written by urgent.news from Guardian Technology, Economic Times Tech, NDTV, Quartz, CNA - Business — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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