Lawrence Norden, The Washington Post; My team fed chatbots election lies. Here’s what happened.
"In the past few years, artificial intelligence models have developed rapidly, but they remain prone to error, raising concerns about their potential to spread election misinformation. So my colleagues and I decided to study popular chatbots to see if they would push back on election conspiracy theories or rebuff attempts to generate deceiving images, videos and audio. We have good and bad news."
HSJC Newsroom , The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; Nevada County DA Faces Possible Sanctions Over AI-Related Errors in Criminal Cases
"The newly appointed judge’s review stems from a directive issued by the California Supreme Court in January. The high court asked the appellate court to examine more closely how far-reaching the AI-related errors were and whether they tainted the outcomes of criminal cases. In doing so, the Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision that would have shielded Wilson’s office from any sanctions.
Legal experts say the Nevada County episode is notable because it represents one of the first documented instances nationwide in which government prosecutors — who are typically held to a stricter ethical standard than private attorneys — have been accused of presenting AI-generated falsehoods to a court."
Mary Shaw and , The New York Times ; You’re a Computer Science Major. Don’t Panic.
"The future of computer science education is to teach students how to master the indispensable skill of supervision.
Why? Because the speed and efficiency of using A.I. to write code is balanced by the reality that it often gets things wrong. These tools are designed to produce results that look convincing, but may still contain errors. A recent survey showed that over half of professional developers use A.I. tools daily, but only about one-third trust their accuracy. When asked what their greatest frustration is about using A.I. tools, two-thirds of respondents answered, “A.I. solutions that are almost right but not quite.”
There is still a need for humans to play a role in coding — a supervisory one, where programmers oversee the use of A.I. tools, determine if A.I.-generated code does what it is supposed to do and make essential repairs to defective code."
Sharon Bernstein, Sacramento Bee via Government Technology; California Prosecutor Says AI Caused Errors in Criminal Case
"Northern California prosecutors used artificial intelligence to write a criminal court filing that contained references to nonexistent legal cases and precedents, Nevada County District Attorney Jesse Wilson said in a statement.
The motion included false information known in artificial intelligence circles as “hallucinations,” meaning that it was invented by the AI software asked to write the material, Wilson said. It was filed in connection with the case of Kalen Turner, who was accused of five felony and two misdemeanor drug counts, he said.
The situation is the latest example of the potential pitfalls connected with the growing use of AI. In fields such as law, errors in AI-generated briefs could impact the freedom of a person accused of a crime. In health care, AI analysis of medical necessity has resulted in the denial of some types of care. In April, A 16-year-old Rancho Santa Margarita boy killed himself after discussing suicidal thoughts with an AI chatbot, prompting a new California law aimed at protecting vulnerable users.
“While artificial intelligence can be a useful research tool, it remains an evolving technology with limitations — including the potential to generate ‘hallucinated’ citations,” Wilson said. “We are actively learning the fluid dynamics of AI-assisted legal work and its possible pitfalls.”
The Federalist Society; Emerging Issues in the Use of Generative AI: Ethics, Sanctions, and Beyond
"The idea of Artificial Intelligence has long presented potential challenges in the legal realm, and as AI tools become more broadly available and widely used, those potential hurdles are becoming ever more salient for lawyers in their day-to-day operations. Questions abound, from what potential risks of bias and error may exist in using an AI tool, to the challenges related to professional responsibility as traditionally understood, to the risks large language learning models pose to client confidentiality. Some contend that AI is a must-use, as it opens the door to faster, more efficient legal research that could equip lawyers to serve their clients more effectively. Others reject the use of AI, arguing that the risks of use and the work required to check the output it gives exceed its potential benefit.
Join us for a FedSoc Forum exploring the ethical and legal implications of artificial intelligence in the practice of law.
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