Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is no longer science fiction. In the past few years, AI technology has infiltrated TV screens and cell phones, gradually making its way into the workplace. The possibility of having an always-available research assistant has sparked interest in the legal community, but it has also raised considerable ethical questions about how the technology would be integrated into legal practice. Federal courts have since made it clear that AI technology can be used as a tool, not a replacement for research.
In 2023, Two New York lawyers, Steven Schwartz and Peter LoDuca, filed a legal document citing six non-existent cases in Federal Court; the lawyers only realized the cases were fake when representatives from the other side of the case informed the court of their inability to locate the cited sources. When both parties appeared before the court, Schwartz admitted to using ChatGPT and unknowingly including false citations. U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel found that the lawyers acted in bad faith and made misleading statements to the court. He ordered the lawyers to pay a $5,000 fine.