ChatGPT, Google Bard Blocked in Court: Texas Judge Prohibits AI-Generated Filings

ChatGPT and Google Bard hit a legal roadblock as a Texas judge recently prohibited using AI-generated content in court filings.

The groundbreaking decision comes right after a lawyer admitted using ChatGPT for his legal research, leading him to cite fake court filings.

ChatGPT, Google Bard Blocked as Texas Judge Prohibits AI-Made Court Filings

According to Tech Crunch, a Texas federal judge, Brantley Starr, wants to prevent any mishaps from lawyers using generative AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google Bard. And to do so, Starr wants these platforms out of his courtroom.

The federal judge introduced a new requirement for lawyers appearing in his court. Starr has prohibited them from using generative AI tools to draft their filing.

He says lawyers must "file on the docket a certificate attesting that no portion of the filing was drafted by generative artificial intelligence." Starr specifically mentions samples of generative AI tools, including ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Harvey.AI.

If they ever insist on using these AI services, the Texas federal judge wants a human to check everything for accuracy. AI-generated content should be "checked for accuracy, using print reporters or traditional legal databases, by a human being," Starr orders.

The memo to lawyers also says that AI tools are fond of bias and hallucinations. It created quotes and citations out of nowhere, leading to unreliability.

It has yet to be determined if the rule directly responds to the recent incident wherein a lawyer used ChatGPT AI. He ended up including six fake or bogus citations.

But it is worth noting that the groundbreaking decision comes after the attorney came clean about using the AI tool for his case research.

Lawyer 'Greatly Regrets' Using AI for Court Filing

ChatGPT AI — This picture taken on April 26, 2023 in Toulouse, southwestern France, shows a screen displaying the logo of ChatGPT, the conversational artificial intelligence software application developed by OpenAI. by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images

As per Entrepreneur.com, a New York-based lawyer, Steven Schartz, admitted using ChatGPT after the court caught him citing six "bogus" judicial decisions.

Judge Keven Castel issued a court order saying, "six of the submitted cases appear to be bogus judicial decisions with bogus quotes and internal citations."

Schwartz filed an affidavit admitting that he used the AI tool for legal research. He notes that it was his first time using it, adding that he was unaware it could produce fake content.

CNN reports that the attorney has already apologized for citing the fake court decisions. He says he "greatly regrets" using ChatGPT for his legal research.

OpenAI tells ChatGPT users that the AI generative tool could produce inaccurate responses. The tech giant warns that it "may produce inaccurate information about people, places, and facts."