Michael Cohen, a former attorney for Donald Trump and fixer, has admitted that he unwittingly used artificial intelligence to create legal citations. This was revealed in a court document. This disclosure comes amid Cohen's ongoing legal issues and his role in potential court proceedings against Trump.
In a recent court document, Cohen revealed that he accidentally sent fictitious AI generated legal citations (to his lawyer David Schwartz). These citations were generated by Google Bard AI chatbot and then submitted to a judge. Cohen, who is currently on supervised release after serving time in prison, used these citations as evidence to support his motion for an early termination of supervision. He believed Google Bard was a "supercharged search engine", and did not know that it could generate non-existent cases.
Schwartz failed to check the citations, which compounded this error. Schwartz believed that Cohen had done the research and didn't consider the possibility that the cases cited were fiction. Schwartz acknowledged that he was responsible for the submission, and apologized for failing to personally check the cases prior to presenting them in court. This oversight raises concerns about due diligence in legal research, and the use of AI tools.
Cohen's unintentional use of AI-generated references could affect his credibility in legal cases against Trump. Cohen testified in a civil case in New York against Trump and will be a key witness for a criminal case. This incident highlights the dangers of new legal technologies, and the need for lawyers to keep up with the latest trends.
The incident between Cohen and Google Bard sheds some light on the growing integration of AI into legal research. AI tools are useful for research, but they can also be dangerous, as they may generate inaccurate or fictitious data. It is important to understand the limitations and capabilities of AI when used in legal contexts. When using AI-generated material, lawyers and legal professionals should exercise caution and conduct thorough verifications.
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