In 2023, New York attorney Steven A. Schwartz represented an airline passenger allegedly injured after being struck by a beverage cart. In March of 2023, Schwartz filed a brief that cited the following case:
Varghese v. China Southern Airlines Co Ltd., 925 F.3d 1339 (11th Cir. 2019).
The problem? There is no Varghese v. China Southern Airlines Co Ltd. The lawyer had used A.I. to generate his brief, and the Varghese case—and five more like it—was invented by the Artificial Intelligence program Chat GPT. All six cases are fake.
(Did you know ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MAKES THINGS UP? Generative A.I. is programmed to always answer questions. If it cannot find an answer online, it will invent things.)
Instead of spending hours in the law library, Schwartz simply created a detailed prompt and ChatGPT generated the entire brief. Schwartz then filed the brief without looking the cases up. Schwartz further failed to discover that the fake cases were attributed to real judges. That is, the A.I. program not only invented cases, but also invented quotations that it then attributed to ACTUAL judges currently on the bench. Thus, the machine said these real judges had made statements that they never made. That is slanderous at best, a breach worthy of disbarment at worst.
When the cases could not be located, opposing counsel immediately raised questions, then brought the matter to the judge along with a motion for sanctions. By this time an attorney senior to Schwartz was also involved. But when the judge began asking questions, the lawyers did not admit that Schwartz had used ChatGPT. Instead, the two actually said they had read the non-existent cases. Like gamblers about to lose everything, when they should have given up, they doubled-down!
As they sank deeper, the men filed affidavits explaining they had taken their problem back to A.I., asking ChatGPT if the Varghese case was real. It said yes. They asked if the other cases were real. ChatGPT said yes and that the cases “can be found in reputable legal databases such as LexisNexis and Westlaw.” [1] Of course, the cases could not be found. They do not exist.
The judge—a jurist to be lauded for his patience—fined the attorneys $5,000 each, then took the matter one step further, ordering the lawyers to mail copies of their fraudulent brief to each of the judges named therein, along with an apology for smearing the judges’ names in such a reckless manner.[2]
King Saul also had a habit of doubling down. When Saul made a rash vow that would have required the death of his son Jonathan, Saul could not admit error and showed no mercy: “May God punish me, and do so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan!” 1 Samuel 14:44. But the men convinced Saul to let Jonathan live. Later, when Saul failed to wipe out the spoils of the Amalekites, Samuel said, “What is this sound of sheep and cattle that I hear?” 1 Samuel 15:14. Saul did not confess; he made excuses.
Do we do that? How do you respond to your own failures? Do you double-down, trying to hide the mistake under lies and excuses? Do you blame others? Or do you own your decisions?
Here is a truth, an ABSOLUTE FACT that you should take to heart from this day forward: You WILL make mistakes. You will misjudge people, hurt people, say the wrong things, and wound those you love. You just will. You will get facts wrong, memories confused, and you will mis-read circumstances. You are human. We are all human. (Do you know anyone who is perfect? No? Then don’t assume you are.)
You WILL make mistakes. The important thing is how you respond to them.
Confess. Admit the problem. Own your mistakes. Humble yourself, accept that you are imperfect, and be teachable.
“Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” James 5:16.
“Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy” Proverbs 28:13.
God, teach us to be honest when we are wrong. Show us how to make a true confession—and bless us also with the grace to know what to keep quiet about, as some lack the maturity or discretion to hear what might be confessed. Most importantly, draw us into complete honesty with YOU. Reveal to us secrets we do not even realize we are holding.
ΑΩ
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/27/nyregion/avianca-airline-lawsuit-chatgpt.html
[2] https://www.legaldive.com/news/lawyer-fake-chatgpt-cases-sanctions-fines-lawyers-chatgpt-fake-cases/653741/