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21 July 2023
Issue: 8034 / Categories: Legal News , Cyber , Technology , Libel , Defamation , Artificial intelligence
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NLJ this week: Electric dreams, AI confabulations & defamation law

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Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are known to ‘hallucinate’, making up false information or confabulating to fill gaps in their knowledge. But who is responsible in law for any libel or harm caused as a result? In this week’s NLJ, Chloe Flascher, associate at Withers, addresses this fascinating conundrum.

The lies and dreams of machines can cause real world risks. As Flascher writes: ‘ChatGPT recently invented a sexual harassment scandal, naming a real law professor as the accused (citing a fake Washington Post article as evidence in support of the allegation). Not only did no such article exist, but the real professor had never been accused of harassing a student, nor had he been present on the trip to Alaska described by the chatbot during which the purported sexual harassment took place.’

Flascher explores potential defamatory scenarios arising from generative AI, and analyses how this might be dealt with under current laws—read the full article here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Withers—Sophie Barrett-Brown

Withers—Sophie Barrett-Brown

Withers drives further growth in its UK immigration team with new partner Sophie Barrett-Brown

Venus Legal—Esther Amoako

Venus Legal—Esther Amoako

Venus Legal invests in next generation of legal talent as specialist litigation practice grows

Fisher Phillips—Catrina Smith

Fisher Phillips—Catrina Smith

Fisher Phillips continues momentum in London with arrival of Catrina Smith

NEWS
Restrictions on workplace non-disclosure agreements could make settlements slower, more complex and more expensive when reforms expected in 2027 take effect
Private prosecutors face closer scrutiny under Crown Prosecution Service guidance designed to strengthen accountability and consistency when intervention is requested
Foreign states cannot necessarily claim immunity for cyber operations launched abroad against computers in Britain, following a divided Supreme Court ruling
Defendants who make unsupported complaints about their lawyers risk losing legal aid while confiscation proceedings continue without representation
Lawyers advising Russian clients face different sanctions restrictions across the UK, EU and US, despite their shared objective of increasing pressure on Russia
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