U.S. Judge Sanctions More Attorneys Over Inaccurate AI-Generated Court Filings - 1

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U.S. Judge Sanctions More Attorneys Over Inaccurate AI-Generated Court Filings

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

A U.S. federal judge fined two attorneys $3,000 on Monday for using artificial intelligence to generate inaccurate information. The lawyers, who were representing MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell in a defamation case, submitted court documents containing fake legal citations produced by AI tools.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

  • A U.S. Federal judge charged two attorneys $3,000 for filing a legal document generated by AI tools.
  • The lawyers submitted court filings containing over two dozen mistakes, including hallucinations generated by AI models.
  • Judges around the world have raised concerns about lawyers’ use of AI tools.

According to NPR , Judge Nina Y. Wang of the U.S. District Court in Denver ruled that attorneys Christopher Kachouroff and Jennifer DeMaster violated the court rules by filing a document with more than two dozen mistakes. She ordered them to pay what she described as a “reasonably light sum.”

“Notwithstanding any suggestion to the contrary, this Court derives no joy from sanctioning attorneys who appear before it,” wrote judge Wang in her decision. “Indeed, federal courts rely upon the assistance of attorneys as officers of the court for the efficient and fair administration of justice.”

The erroneous filing was part of the Lindell case, in which a jury found that the businessman and conspiracy theorist had defamed a former employee. Lindell was ordered to pay $2.3 million in damages last month.

The use of AI is not illegal in the United States, but the judge considered that the two lawyers violated a federal rule requiring lawyers to verify the accuracy of their filings and ensure that their claims are grounded in law.

It is not an isolated case. Judges in the U.S. and abroad are increasingly raising concerns about the use of AI in legal proceedings. In May, another U.S. judge fined two law firms $31,000 for fake AI-generated legal citations.

And just a few weeks ago, the UK courts warned British lawyers against using AI technology such as ChatGPT for its fake-generated citations. The warning came after a lawyer submitted 18 false cases in an £89 million lawsuit—an act that may lead to criminal charges.

Police Arrest Teenagers Over Cyberattacks Targeting Major UK Retailers - 2

Photo by Oli Woodman on Unsplash

Police Arrest Teenagers Over Cyberattacks Targeting Major UK Retailers

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

British police arrested four individuals on Thursday in connection with recent cyberattacks targeting major U.K. retailers Marks & Spencer, Co-op, and Harrods. Three of the suspects are teenagers and remain in custody for questioning.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

  • The British police arrested 4 suspects over the recent cyberattacks targeting UK retailers Marks & Spencer, Co-op, and Harrods.
  • The suspects are three males—two aged 19 and one 17—and one female aged 20.
  • The NCA has not confirmed if they are members of the criminal group Scattered Spider.

According to the report published by the National Crime Agency (NCA), the four suspects—three males (two aged 19 and one aged 17), and one female aged 20—were arrested at their houses on multiple charges, including blackmail, money laundry, Computer Misuse Act offences, and participating in activities with a crime group.

“All four were arrested at their home addresses and had their electronic devices seized for digital forensic analysis,” states the report. “They remain in custody for questioning by officers from the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit in relation to the three attacks, which took place in April this year.”

The cyberattacks were reported in May, after Co-op confirmed that hackers had stolen private data from over 20 million members. The hacking group DragonForce claimed responsibility, but experts suspect the cybercriminals were following orders from the criminal organization Scattered Spider. Similar attacks to the other two large retailers were also reported shortly after.

According to the New York Times , Marks & Spencer was the most heavily impacted, suffering an estimated $407 million in lost profit this year due to the attack.

In June, Google warned that the hacker group Scattered Spider had been targeting retailers in the United States using similar methods. The criminal organization has been developing sophisticated technologies this year to develop powerful malware and phishing kits.