ChatGPT impersonated a lawyer
In a recent legal controversy, Steven Schwartz, an attorney from the prestigious New York law firm Levidow, Levidow & Oberman, faced criticism for utilizing ChatGPT for legal research in a lawsuit filed against Avianca Airlines by his client, Robert Mata.
According to a report by CNN Business, Mata alleged that he suffered an injury from a serving cart during a flight with Avianca Airlines back in 2019.
However, the case took an unexpected turn when inconsistencies and factual errors in the documentation caught the attention of the presiding judge. In a sworn affidavit dated May 24, Schwartz admitted to relying on ChatGPT for his legal research, claiming that it was his first time using the technology and that he was unaware of the possibility of false content.
The judge further highlighted the existence of certain referenced cases that turned out to be non-existent. Moreover, there was an instance where a docket number on a filing was mistakenly mixed up with another court filing.
The incident has raised concerns about the reliability and accuracy of using AI language models for legal research, particularly in high-stakes litigation.
However, the case took an unexpected turn when inconsistencies and factual errors in the documentation caught the attention of the presiding judge. In a sworn affidavit dated May 24, Schwartz admitted to relying on ChatGPT for his legal research, claiming that it was his first time using the technology and that he was unaware of the possibility of false content.
The judge further highlighted the existence of certain referenced cases that turned out to be non-existent. Moreover, there was an instance where a docket number on a filing was mistakenly mixed up with another court filing.
The incident has raised concerns about the reliability and accuracy of using AI language models for legal research, particularly in high-stakes litigation.
