In a development raising significant concerns about the reliability of AI-generated research, a legal clash involving Anthropic PBC has taken center stage. Music publishers have accused the company of deploying an expert witness who cited a nonexistent academic article in a copyright infringement case. During a recent court hearing in front of Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen, the publishers’ legal representative, Matthew Oppenheim, requested that Olivia Chen, Anthropic’s expert witness, be excused due to the dubious citation.
Oppenheim, from Oppenheim and Zebrak LLP, suggested that Chen used Anthropic’s AI tool, Claude, to construct her argument and authority, a move seen as a potential infringement of court protocol. Concern arises from the revelation that the author and publisher of the cited article have denied its existence, casting doubt on the authenticity of the provided evidence.
The courtroom drama unfolded during what was initially a discovery dispute discussion, lasting nearly two hours. Judge van Keulen expressed the gravity of the situation, describing the accusation as “a very serious and grave issue.” Given the weight of these allegations, she has mandated Anthropic to submit a brief within two days to address and clarify the contentious citation.
For further details on the case, please refer to the original report by Bloomberg Law.