At the height of ChatGPT's fame, people have already found ways to exploit the AI chatbot. It was an entire issue when students used it to do their homework without doing any actual work, and now a lawyer from New York.
ChatGPT, Practicing Law
It's already known to most that ChatGPT, or any AI chatbot for that matter, is unreliable regarding credible information. However, it appears that the New York lawyer, Steven Schwartz, was not aware of that fact and used it to create a legal briefing.
The AI-generated legal document was in response to the defendants, Avianca as they asked a Manhattan federal judge to throw out the case against them, which was filed by Roberto Mata, claiming to have been injured during a flight to Kennedy International Airport.
Through ChatGPT, Schwartz submitted the ten-page legal briefing citing several relevant court decisions that can support their objection to the case being thrown out. Some of them were Martinzes v. Delta Airlines, Zicherman v. Korean Air Lines, and more.
Of course, as mentioned in The New York Times, none of them existed. The defendant's lawyers and the judge tried to find the citations, which led to the discovery that ChatGPT merely invented the cases, which means it does not stand in court.
The New York lawyer revealed in an affidavit that he had used the AI chatbot to aid him in creating the brief, stating that he was "unaware of the possibility that its content could be false," even claiming that the tried to verify it, albeit through the chatbot as well.
Schwartz, who has been practicing law for three decades, will be attending a hearing on June 8th to discuss the potential sanctions he may face. He also stated that he regrets using ChatGPT for legal matters and will never do it again without "absolute verification."
This particular incident just shows that AI is not yet primed to do any kind of legal work or any white-collar profession that goes beyond codes and numbers. There's also the fact that ChatGPT only has access to knowledge until September 2021.
AI Isn't Taking Jobs Just Yet
This mishap may bring solace to those who worry that their jobs are in danger of being taken over by AI. This has been a fear instilled in many industries as AI becomes more powerful, being able to process data the way humans do.
Then again, there are already situations where AI has been preferred over human service. For example, fast food franchises like Wendy's and McDonald's, among others, are already testing out AI to take orders in drive-thrus, as mentioned in The Verge.
More powerful AIs are now being developed, and even experts in the tech industry are worried about the potential implications of advanced AI. Artists have also expressed their grievances about AI-generated art as it is already affecting their businesses.
Although AI is still not advanced enough to take over jobs, it's likely that it will be in the near future. It's a more efficient and cheaper option, which is something that companies and other businesses would prefer.
