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AI hallucination: together in electric dreams?

18 October 2024 / Luke McGrath
Issue: 8090 / Categories: Features , Profession , Artificial intelligence , Technology , Career focus
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Luke McGrath looks at the issue of AI hallucination & its implications for lawyers
  • Explains what AI hallucinations are, what risks they present and how the US, EU and UK are responding.

Many of us will have doubtless read about the New York lawyer who used Chat GPT to help write a legal brief. In the brief, six of the submitted cases were fictitious; Chat GPT invented them and even reassured the lawyer concerned, Steven Schwartz, that they were real, saying they could be found on LexisNexis and Westlaw. Schwartz was subsequently penalised for his actions with a $5,000 fine.

What are AI hallucinations?

This case is an example of AI ‘hallucination’, where an AI chatbot, like Chat GPT, invents something, like a case, in an effort to answer its user’s questions. Given the supposed ‘super intelligence’ of AI, one would assume that these hallucinations are rare. This, however, is far from true. A Stanford University study found that AI chatbots hallucinate between 58% and 82%

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NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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