Lawyer Steven Schwartz had to justify his use of ChatGPT in front of a judge for two hours on Thursday. The AI had invented fake lawsuits which he used in a plea deal.
No, ChatGPT is not a “super search engine”. This Thursday, June 8, Steven Schwartz was heard for two hours by a judge in New York’s Southern District, reports the New York Times. The lawyer had to explain his use of the OpenAI conversation robot as part of his legal research.
Steven Schwartz called ChatGPT to defend his client who was hit by a service van while on a plane trip. The aim was to find out whether similar cases had already been assessed in the past. Only the software told him about cases that never happened. He is therefore accused of not having checked the information provided by ChatGPT.
“God, I regret not doing that,” he said, showing embarrassment and humiliation.
Impact on the entire legal profession
According to him, he “didn’t understand that ChatGPT could do business”. The attorney also states, “I heard about this new website, which I mistakenly assumed was a super search engine.”
Almost 70 people attended Steven Schwartz’s hearing. On the benches, lawyers, law students, court officials and professors take part in the crime scene. “This case had an impact on the entire legal profession,” court columnist David Lat told the New York Times.
Sanctions should be imposed on the lawyer. At least Judge Kevin Castel is thinking about it. The effects could not only affect Steven Schwartz, but also his partner Peter LoDuca, who has since taken up the case again.
Although he didn’t do the research himself, thanks to ChatGPT, Peter LoDuca didn’t read his colleague’s (fake) lawsuits. He had admitted he hadn’t made sure those files ever existed.