Donald Trump’s former legal counsel, Michael Cohen, seemingly stumbled upon doctored legal cases generated by artificial intelligence in his brief that sought his post-prison release from supervision, as per information extracted from court documents revealed last Friday. Bloomberg reports, Cohen, who was stripped of his legal function in 2019 after admitting to perjury before Congress, turned to Google’s AI platform known as Bard to unearth these cases.
The brief, registered at a federal court in Manhattan, was in support of his appeal for an early conclusion to mandates that necessitate him reporting to a probation supervisor, and seeking permission for his travel outside specific constraints.
This case raises pertinent questions about the use of AI in legal scenarios, and the reliability of AI-powered tools in the court system. There is a pressing need to develop robust AI systems that utilize legitimate data to prevent such occurrences and to maintain the integrity of the legal system. As modern technology evolves, the legal profession has to adapt, but the process must be robust and reliable at all times. It will be interesting to observe how AI tools and professionals respond to such challenges.