A senior judge has raised concerns about the dangers of utilizing artificial intelligence in preparing for court proceedings following the discovery of references to nonexistent legal cases in several documents.
Mr. Justice Sweeting voiced his apprehensions on Wednesday while rejecting the appeals of two individuals contesting their extradition to Romania for crimes committed there.
During the High Court session, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) opposed the appeals but later admitted that two legal authorities cited in their submissions were fabricated by an AI system and did not have any real basis.
The judge revealed that these false references were also included in another document, prompting the issue to be addressed with the CPS before a hearing in February.
Acknowledging the mistake, the CPS apologized and clarified that the inaccuracies stemmed from the use of artificial intelligence, although the main cause was identified as human error for not verifying the sources before submission.
Mr. Justice Sweeting disclosed that the CPS conducted a comprehensive internal review and examined 78 other cases associated with the same lawyer, finding no further concerns and deeming the likelihood of a recurrence low.
He emphasized that the errors were rectified before the hearing, assuring that they did not impact the court’s decision-making process.
Regarding the incident, the judge accepted the CPS’s apology and explanation, highlighting the increasing relevance of artificial intelligence in legal proceedings but cautioning against its unchecked use, particularly in legal research.
A CPS spokesperson clarified that the organization does not employ AI in legal decision-making or charging determinations, expressing regret for the submission error and affirming that corrective measures were promptly taken to prevent future occurrences as per the judge’s acknowledgment.