The debate is on whether artificial intelligence will make our lives easier or replace it. AI does offer some benefits; however, should you use AI to generate your briefs? Two lawyers in New York discovered that you need to check what AI generates. These two lawyers were sanctioned by a New York federal judge in 2023 for using AI, which produced an inaccurate legal brief.
In other states, for example, in Texas, U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr issued a Mandatory Certification Regarding Generative Artificial Intelligence directive. This directive requires lawyers to certify that AI-generated content is checked for accuracy by humans.
Here are our thoughts on utilizing artificial intelligence for briefs.
ChatGPT Can Produce Content, Nevertheless, Can AI Be Inaccurate?
The two lawyers, sanctioned with a $5,000 fine, had used ChatGPT to write their brief. These lawyers submitted a case that did not exist. Their problem was that they did not check the content produced by ChatGPT. Instead, the information that was presented was inaccurate and nonsensical. Moreover, according to the judge, these lawyers acted in bad faith and presented misleading information to the court. Nevertheless, this does not mean you cannot use ChatGPT─ you certainly can; however, you must be responsible.
Use ChatGPT to Write Your Briefs Responsibly
Artificial intelligence can enhance how you work. You can use AI to generate both ideas and your draft brief. This can speed up the time spent on your administrative work. However, it would help if you remembered that AI often gets things wrong; therefore, all AI work should be considered only as a draft.
Tips for Writing Briefs Using AI
Here are some tips for reviewing your AI-generated briefs. You need to know that when you use ChatGPT or any other AI writing tool to enter information, you open it up in part to be accessed by third parties. It would help if you considered factors such as data privacy, bias, confidentially, and ethics. Know that AI tools have limits. For instance, ChatGPT has a knowledge cutoff date, as with other writing tools. Although the company behind ChatGPT declares that this is April 2023, others in the industry believe that the date is September 2021. This implies that this tool cannot include very recent data.
You need to review the AI-produced brief critically. Besides that, lawyers have obligations to their clients and the court; a lawyer must protect his or her reputation. The argument should be actual and logical and include all the relevant information apropos of the case, including whether the cases referred to exist. In other words, the data must be verified by locating the primary sources and ensuring the information is accurate. If not, correct it. Lastly, besides the above tips, check the court’s stance on using AI. For instance, as in the Texas scenario, you will need certification, which should be appended to your filing.
The Bottom Line: Artificial Intelligence
You should understand everything that artificial intelligence can and can’t do. AI, such as ChatGPT, can combine words and sentences to construct a text; however, it cannot grasp the nuances of legal arguments. What AI can do is create a draft. After that, you must edit it and fact-check it.
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