Judge Michael Wilner Slammed Law Firms Against the Undisclosed Use of Artificial Intelligence in a California Legislature

The bill that would have imposed security restrictions and legal liability on the state’s based Artificial Intelligence companies was opposed by Openai. Gov. Newsom vetoed the bill last September, and OpenAI has made it clear it wants to avoid having state laws “bogging down innovation” in the future.

Democrats are calling the new provision a “giant gift” to Big Tech, and organizations that promote AI oversight, like Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI), say it could have “catastrophic consequences” for the public. The companies like Openai have been trying to find a way to avoid state laws in Washington. Lawmakers are able to fast-track government spending related bills by requiring only a majority in the Senate rather than the required 60 votes.

A California judge slammed a pair of law firms for the undisclosed use of AI after he received a supplemental brief with “numerous false, inaccurate, and misleading legal citations and quotations.” According to a ruling submitted last week, Judge Michael Wilner imposed sanctions on the law firms because they were out-sourced research and writing to artificial intelligence.

The judge wrote that he read their brief, was intrigued by the authorities cited, and looked up the decisions to learn more about them but didn’t find them. That is frightening. There was a chance it would lead to the scarier outcome of including those bogus materials in a judicial order.