Lawyers Ordered to Consider Seeking Forgiveness in ChatGPT Case

Two lawyers in Manhattan, Steven A. Schwartz and Paul LoDuca, have been ordered to pay fines for submitting a legal brief filled with fake cases and citations, all produced by the artificial intelligence tool, ChatGPT. The discovery of ChatGPT being used in the brief has caused a stir in tech communities, with debates about the overreliance on artificial intelligence. The judge has harshly criticized the lawyers and imposed a $5,000 fine, ordering them to send a copy of his opinion to each of the actual judges whose names appeared on the fake opinions generated by ChatGPT. The lawyers are not required to apologize because a compelled apology is not considered sincere. Judge Castel has warned that fake submissions damage reputations, waste time and money, compromise the legal profession, set precedent for future challenges to rulings, and promote cynicism about the American judicial system. The revelation has sparked important discussions about the potential dangers of using artificial intelligence in law and invites further scrutiny of technology’s impact on legal proceedings.