Image by Beyond My Ken, from Wikimedia Commons
Self-Represented Litigant Uses AI Avatar, Sparks Courtroom Backlash
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
A man who appeared on a video screen to defend his case in a New York court turned out to be an AI-generated avatar instead of a real person.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- A man used an AI avatar to argue his case in court.
- Judges quickly stopped the video after realizing it wasn’t a real person.
- The court was upset he hadn’t disclosed the use of an avatar.
As first reported by the AP , Jerome Dewald appeared before the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division’s First Judicial Department to argue his employment dispute through a video submission, while allegedly representing himself.
“The appellant has submitted a video for his argument,” said Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels, as reported by the AP. “Ok. We will hear that video now,” she added.
The AP reported that on screen appeared a well-dressed, youthful figure who greeted the judges by saying, “May it please the court. I come here today a humble pro se before a panel of five distinguished justices.”
But the judge quickly paused. “Ok, hold on. Is that counsel for the case?” she asked. Dewald admitted: “I generated that. That’s not a real person.”
According to the AP, the video was immediately stopped. “It would have been nice to know that when you made your application. You did not tell me that sir,” Manzanet-Daniels said. “I don’t appreciate being misled,” she added.
Dewald later apologized, saying he meant no harm. He said that since he does not have a lawyer and has a problem with public speaking, he used an AI avatar to present his case more clearly. He made the avatar with a tool from a San Francisco tech company, but could not make it look like him in time.
“The court was really upset about it,” Dewald said, as reported by the AP. “They chewed me up pretty good,” he added.
The AP notes that Dewald is not the first to get in trouble over AI in the courtroom. For example, the AP cites the case of two lawyers who were fined in 2023 for using an AI chatbot that created fake cases.
The AP notes that even high-profile lawyers, like those for Michael Cohen, faced similar issues when they unknowingly cited AI-created rulings.
Moreover, recent reports show that AI’s hallucinations—errors and made-up information created by generative AI models—are causing legal problems in courts across the United States.
Legal technology expert Daniel Shin noted to the AP that while it’s rare for lawyers to use AI in court , it’s not surprising that a non-lawyer like Dewald would try such an approach.
Dewald’s case is still under review by the court.
Image by Mike Mozart, from Flickr
T-Mobile Tracker Glitch Exposes Locations of Random Children to Other Users
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
A significant privacy issue emerged with T-Mobile’s SyncUP tracking app, revealing the names, photos, and exact locations of random children across the U.S. instead of showing parents their own kids.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- Affected parents saw real-time updates of unknown children’s locations, including schools.
- Social media users reported similar problems with T-Mobile’s SyncUP DRIVE car tracker.
- T-Mobile claimed the issue was caused by a system update and is now resolved.
The issue, first reported by 404 Media , affected multiple users, raising serious concerns about data security and child safety.
Jenna, a parent who uses SyncUP to monitor her three-year-old and six-year-old, logged in expecting to see if her kids had left school but was instead shown the real-time locations of eight unknown children.
“I would log in and I couldn’t see my children but I could see a kid in California. I refreshed and would see a different child.” Jenna said, as reported by 404 Media.
Screenshots provided by Jenna to 404 Media confirmed that children’s profile pictures, names, and last known locations—including schools—were visible to other users. Alarmed by the situation, she immediately contacted T-Mobile support.
“As a mother, this is super alarming to me, and I raised flags right away [with T-Mobile] and nobody took me seriously there,” she said, as reported by 404 Media.
In a recorded call with T-Mobile, a customer support representative admitted the company was aware of the issue but offered no immediate solution.
“We are now aware of the problem and we’re trying to find a way to fix it,” the representative said, as reported by 404 Media. “We’ll just need to wait for a little bit,” he added.
Jenna also emailed T-Mobile for further clarification but received no response, as reported by 404 Media.
After 404 Media published the story, T-Mobile’s crisis communications manager, Bennet Ladyman, acknowledged the issue.
“Yesterday we fully resolved a temporary system issue with our SyncUP products that resulted from a planned technology update. We are in the process of understanding potential impacts to a small number of customers and will reach out to any as needed. We apologize for any inconvenience.” Ladyman stated, as reported by 404 Media.
However, Jenna was not alone. Similar complaints flooded social media, with parents reporting that they, too, had been shown random children’s locations instead of their own. Additionally, users of T-Mobile’s SyncUP DRIVE—a car tracking device—reported that their app was randomly displaying other people’s vehicles instead of their own.
This incident highlights the risks associated with location-tracking technology. Similar breaches have occurred before, including a 2023 incident where users of Ubiquiti surveillance cameras were shown live feeds from other people’s homes.
While Jenna’s SyncUP tracker appeared to be functioning correctly again on Wednesday, the security lapse has left many parents questioning the reliability of T-Mobile’s tracking services.
