Michael Cohen admits to using AI to provide fake legal citations 1
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In recently unsealed court documents, Michael Cohen, the former fixer for Donald Trump, admitted to inadvertently providing his lawyer with false legal citations generated by an artificial intelligence program called Google Bard. These misleading citations were subsequently used in a motion submitted to federal judge Jesse Furman, where Cohen sought an early termination of the court’s supervision of his case. Michael Cohen admits to using false legal citations Michael Cohen, who had previously pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and served time in prison, explained in a sworn declaration that he was not attuned to emerging trends and risks in legal technology. Specifically, he was unaware that Google Bard functioned as a generative text service, akin to ChatGPT, capable of producing citations and descriptions that appeared authentic but were fabricated. Additionally, Michael Cohen expressed surprise that his lawyer, David Schwartz, incorporated the AI-generated citations into the motion without independently verifying their legitimacy. This incident marks the second instance this year in which lawyers in Manhattan federal court have cited AI-generated decisions, and its potential ramifications extend to a Manhattan criminal case against Trump. Cohen, expected to be a key witness in the trial, has faced consistent attacks from Trump’s legal team, who portray him as an unreliable narrator. The revelation of the use of AI-generated content adds a new layer to these assertions. Schwartz, in his admission, acknowledged using the three questionable citations and publicly apologized to the court for not personally verifying the cases before submission. Implications of the move on the ongoing trial The oversight could have broader consequences, especially considering Michael Cohen’s pivotal role in an upcoming trial related to a hush-money scheme during the 2016 election. Scheduled for March 25, the trial involves charges by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg against Trump for orchestrating the payment…
Filed under: News - @ December 30, 2023 9:24 pm