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France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Justice at stake as generative AI enters the courtroom
Judges use the technology for research, lawyers utilize it for appeals and parties involved in cases have relied on GenAI to help express themselves in court. "It's probably used more than people expect," said Daniel Linna, a professor at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, about GenAI in the US legal system. "Judges don't necessarily raise their hand and talk about this to a whole room of judges, but I have people who come to me afterward and say they are experimenting with it." In one prominent instance, GenAI enabled murder victim Chris Pelkey to address an Arizona courtroom -- in the form of a video avatar -- at the sentencing of the man convicted of shooting him dead in 2021 during a clash between motorists. "I believe in forgiveness," said a digital proxy of Pelkey created by his sister, Stacey Wales. The judge voiced appreciation for the avatar, saying it seemed authentic. "I knew it would be powerful," Wales told AFP, "that that it would humanize Chris in the eyes of the judge." The AI testimony, a first of its kind, ended the sentencing hearing at which Wales and other members of the slain man's family spoke about the impact of the loss. Since the hearing, examples of GenAI being used in US legal cases have multiplied. "It is a helpful tool and it is time-saving, as long as the accuracy is confirmed," said attorney Stephen Schwartz, who practices in the northeastern state of Maine. "Overall, it's a positive development in jurisprudence." Schwartz described using ChatGPT as well as GenAI legal assistants, such as LexisNexis Protege and CoCounsel from Thomson Reuters, for researching case law and other tasks. "You can't completely rely on it," Schwartz cautioned, recommending that cases proffered by GenAI be read to ensure accuracy. "We are all aware of a horror story where AI comes up with mixed-up case things." The technology has been the culprit behind false legal citations, far-fetched case precedents, and flat-out fabrications. In early May, a federal judge in Los Angeles imposed $31,100 in fines and damages on two law firms for an error-riddled petition drafted with the help of GenAI, blasting it as a "collective debacle." The tech is also being relied on by some who skip lawyers and represent themselves in court, often causing legal errors. And as GenAI makes it easier and cheaper to draft legal complaints, courts already overburdened by caseloads could see them climb higher, said Shay Cleary of the National Center for State Courts. "Courts need to be prepared to handle that," Cleary said. Transformation Law professor Linna sees the potential for GenAI to be part of the solution though, giving more people the ability to seek justice in courts made more efficient. "We have a huge number of people who don't have access to legal services," Linna said. "These tools can be transformative; of course we need to be thoughtful about how we integrate them." Federal judges in the US capitol have written decisions noting their use of ChatGPT in laying out their opinions. "Judges need to be technologically up-to-date and trained in AI," Linna said. GenAI assistants already have the potential to influence the outcome of cases the same way a human law clerk might, reasoned the professor. Facts or case law pointed out by GenAI might sway a judge's decision, and could be different than what a legal clerk would have come up with. But if GenAI lives up to its potential and excels at finding the best information for judges to consider, that could make for well-grounded rulings less likely to be overturned on appeal, according to Linna.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The people refusing to use AI
Nothing has convinced Sabine Zetteler of the value of using AI. "I read a really great phrase recently that said something along the lines of 'why would I bother to read something someone couldn't be bothered to write' and that is such a powerful statement and one that aligns absolutely with my views." Ms Zetteler runs her own London-based communications agency, with around 10 staff, some full-time some part-time. "What's the point of sending something we didn't write, reading a newspaper written by bots, listening to a song created by AI, or me making a bit more money by sacking my administrator who has four kids? "Where's the joy, love or aspirational betterment even just for me as a founder in that? It means nothing to me," she says. Ms Zetteler is among those resisting the AI invasion, which really got going with the launch of ChatGPT at the end of 2022. Since then the service, and its many rivals have become wildly popular. ChatGPT is racking up over five billion visits a month, according to software firm Semrush. But training AI systems like ChatGPT requires huge amounts of energy and, once trained, keeping them running is also energy intensive. While it's difficult to quantify the electricity used by AI, a report by Goldman Sachs estimated that a ChatGPT query uses nearly 10 times as much electricity as a Google search query. That makes some people uncomfortable. For Florence Achery, owner of Yoga Retreats & More, the environmental impact is one reason why she vows to stay away from AI. "My initial reaction was that AI is soulless and is a contradiction with my business, which is all about human connection," says Achery, based in London. "However, I found out that the environmental impact was awful with all the energy consumption required to run the data centres. I don't think that people are aware of that." While Ms Zetteler admits she respects AI for all the social good it can achieve, she says she's concerned about the wider impact on society. "I'm happy that AI exists for blind people if they can have articles translated by AI and anything that is truly beneficial. But in general, I don't think it will benefit us long-term." Is she worried it might have a knock-on effect on her business, especially if rival companies are using AI? "Like everything, I could save money by sending our agency to Milan on EasyJet flights rather than the train. "Already my profit margins look unsuccessful if that's how you measure success, but how about if you measure success by how much you're contributing to society and how well you sleep?" Sierra Hansen, who lives in Seattle and works in public affairs, also refuses to use AI. For her, she's concerned that the use of AI is harming our ability to problem solve. "Our brain is the thing that helps organise what our days look like, not going to AI Copilot and asking it to tell it how to manage my schedule. "Our job as a human is to apply critical thinking skills, and if you are feeding simple tasks into ChatGPT then you're not solving on your own. It's doing the thinking for you. If I want to listen to music, I don't need AI to create the perfect punk rock album for me." But not everyone has the luxury of opting out of AI. Jackie Adams (not her real name), who works in digital marketing, resisted AI initially on environmental grounds, and because she thought using it was lazy. "I heard about the energy needed to power data centres and the amount of land they take up, and it didn't sit right with me. I didn't understand why we needed it," she says. However, about a year ago her three colleagues at the marketing firm she works for started adopting AI, for tasks such as copywriting and idea generation. Six months ago Ms Adams had to follow them, after being told she had to cut her budget. "Then it was out my control," she says. She feels that continuing to resist would have hurt her career. "I started playing with it a bit more after reading job descriptions asking for AI experience. I recently realised that if I don't implement it into my ways of working, I'm going to get left behind." Now, she says, she doesn't view tapping into AI as laziness anymore. "It can elevate my work and make some things better," adding that she uses it to refine copywriting work and for editing photos. The moment to opt out of AI has already passed, says James Brusseau, a philosophy professor specialising in AI ethics at Pace University in New York. "If you want to know why a decision is made, we will need humans. If we don't care about that, then we will probably use AI," he says. "So, we will have human judges for criminal cases, and human doctors to make decisions about who should get the transplant. But, weather forecasting will be gone soon, and anesthesiology too," says Prof Brusseau. Ms Adam has accepted using AI at work, but she still feels despondent about AI's growing influence. "Even when you do a Google search it includes an AI overview, while some emails have a topline summary, So now it almost feels like we have no control. How do I turn all that off? It's snowballing." What is bug hunting and why is it changing? Who will win the race to develop a humanoid robot? A revolution is under way in India's trainer industry Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The people refusing to use AI
Nothing has convinced Sabine Zetteler of the value of using AI. "I read a really great phrase recently that said something along the lines of 'why would I bother to read something someone couldn't be bothered to write' and that is such a powerful statement and one that aligns absolutely with my views." Ms Zetteler runs her own London-based communications agency, with around 10 staff, some full-time some part-time. "What's the point of sending something we didn't write, reading a newspaper written by bots, listening to a song created by AI, or me making a bit more money by sacking my administrator who has four kids? "Where's the joy, love or aspirational betterment even just for me as a founder in that? It means nothing to me," she says. Ms Zetteler is among those resisting the AI invasion, which really got going with the launch of ChatGPT at the end of 2022. Since then the service, and its many rivals have become wildly popular. ChatGPT is racking up over five billion visits a month, according to software firm Semrush. But training AI systems like ChatGPT requires huge amounts of energy and, once trained, keeping them running is also energy intensive. While it's difficult to quantify the electricity used by AI, a report by Goldman Sachs estimated that a ChatGPT query uses nearly 10 times as much electricity as a Google search query. That makes some people uncomfortable. For Florence Achery, owner of Yoga Retreats & More, the environmental impact is one reason why she vows to stay away from AI. "My initial reaction was that AI is soulless and is a contradiction with my business, which is all about human connection," says Achery, based in London. "However, I found out that the environmental impact was awful with all the energy consumption required to run the data centres. I don't think that people are aware of that." While Ms Zetteler admits she respects AI for all the social-good it can achieve, she says she's concerned about the wider impact on society. "I'm happy that AI exists for blind people if they can have articles translated by AI and anything that is truly beneficial. But in general, I don't think it will benefit us long-term." Is she worried it might have a knock-on effect on her business, especially if rival companies are using AI? "Like everything, I could save money by sending our agency to Milan on EasyJet flights rather than the train. "Already my profit margins look unsuccessful if that's how you measure success, but how about if you measure success by how much you're contributing to society and how well you sleep?" Sierra Hansen, who lives in Seattle and works in public affairs, also refuses to use AI. For her, she's concerned that the use of AI is harming our ability to problem solve. "Our brain is the thing that helps organise what our days look like, not going to AI Copilot and asking it to tell it how to manage my schedule. "Our job as a human is to apply critical thinking skills, and if you are feeding simple tasks into ChatGPT then you're not solving on your own. It's doing the thinking for you. If I want to listen to music, I don't need AI to create the perfect punk rock album for me." But not everyone has the luxury of opting out of AI. Jackie Adams (not her real name), who works in digital marketing, resisted AI initially on environmental grounds, and because she thought using it was lazy. "I heard about the energy needed to power data centres and the amount land they take up, and it didn't sit right with me. I didn't understand why we needed it," she says. However, about a year ago her three colleagues at the marketing firm she works for started adopting AI, for tasks such as copywriting and idea generation. Six months ago Ms Adams had to follow them, after being told she had to cut her budget. "Then it was out my control," she says. She feels that continuing to resist would have hurt her career. "I started playing with it a bit more after reading job descriptions asking for AI experience. I recently realised that if I don't implement it into my ways of working, I'm going to get left behind." Now, she says, she doesn't view tapping into AI as laziness anymore. "It can elevate my work and make some things better," adding that she uses it to refine copywriting work and for editing photos. The moment to opt out of AI has already passed, says James Brusseau, a philosophy professor specialising in AI ethics at Pace University in New York. "If you want to know why a decision is made, we will need humans. If we don't care about that, then we will probably use AI," he says. "So, we will have human judges for criminal cases, and human doctors to make decisions about who should get the transplant. But, weather forecasting will be gone soon, and anesthesiology too," says Prof Brusseau. Ms Adam has accepted using AI at work, but she still feels despondent about AI's growing influence. "Even when you do a Google search it includes an AI overview, while some emails have a topline summary, So now it almost feels like we have no control. How do I turn all that off? It's snowballing." What is bug hunting and why is it changing? Who will win the race to develop a humanoid robot? A revolution is under way in India's trainer industry
