William Brewer Commentary on ARtificial Intelligence

Written by William A. Brewer III

The recent chaos caused by AI "hallucinations" in court filings is not a new phenomenon.

Unfortunately, lawyers sometimes fabricate arguments and miscite precedents. Too often they abuse the discovery process and multiply proceedings in their own economic interests. Artificial intelligence simply makes this longstanding incompetence glaringly obvious.

The 1,600+ recorded AI hallucination cases represent a professional crisis, not a technological one. Embedding invisible text in briefs to manipulate opposing software or blaming a chatbot for a botched filing is an ethical breach. They are actions of practitioners cutting corners, not victims of flawed algorithms.

Generative AI exposes the profession's resistance to accountability. Used correctly, this technology distills voluminous discovery and delivers unprecedented efficiency. Used improperly, it merely automates malpractice.

The fix is—of course—penalize the responsible actor. Impose costs for practice not within the rules. Every practicing lawyer knows courts imposing cost—not even sanctions—will push lawyers down the principled path. Lawyers need to master any tool they intend to use to deliver precise, value-driven results, or face escalating sanctions and irrelevance.

Blaming the machine should not be an available defense.

Originally posted on LinkedIn.

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