In a notable attempt to integrate technology into the judicial process, Judge Kevin Newsom of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has received mixed reactions for his use of generative AI. In a detailed concurring opinion, Judge Newsom elaborated on his experience employing OpenAI’s ChatGPT to define specialized terminology in an insurance case.
Judge Newsom’s method included using ChatGPT to define the term “landscaping,” which proved pivotal in a case involving an inground trampoline. This approach sparked varied responses from legal professionals. While some appreciated Judge Newsom’s transparency and his willingness to explore new tools, others viewed his approach as premature and potentially misleading.
Judge Newsom himself appeared to anticipate the controversy, addressing potential critics in his opinion: “Here’s the proposal, which I suspect many will reflexively condemn as heresy, but which I promise to unpack if given the chance,” he wrote. He further encouraged other judges to investigate the capabilities and limits of large language models (LLMs).
For more insights on how Judge Newsom’s experiment with generative AI is shaping judicial discourse, you can read the full article.