Judge Criticizes AI Entrepreneur for Employing AI-Generated 'Lawyer' in Court
April 18, 2025
FredAllen
52
A man's bold move to use an AI-generated avatar in his legal appeal certainly caught the attention of a New York courtroom, though not in the way he might have hoped.
Jerome Dewald, a 74-year-old entrepreneur behind a startup claiming to "revolutionize legal self-representation with AI," faced a stern rebuke during an employment dispute hearing on March 26th. The issue? He failed to disclose to the judges that the person presenting his oral argument was artificially generated. Although the court had given Dewald the green light to submit a video, Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels was taken aback when an unfamiliar face, clearly not Dewald, appeared on screen.
"Hold on," Manzanet-Daniels interjected, barely a sentence into the avatar's speech. "Is that counsel for the case?"
"I generated that," Dewald admitted. "It's not a real person."
Dewald explained to *The Register* that the avatar, a "big, beautiful hunk of a guy" named Jim, was one of the stock options from an AI avatar company called Tavus. He submitted the video due to his challenges with prolonged speaking, but the court was unaware that the video was AI-generated.
"It would have been nice to know that when you made your application. You did not tell me that, sir, I don't appreciate being misled," Manzanet-Daniels retorted after Dewald's confession. "You are not going to use this courtroom as a launch for your business."
Recent AI Mishaps in Legal Settings
This incident is part of a growing list of mishaps where AI and legal processes intersect. In 2023, two attorneys and their law firm faced penalties for submitting fictitious legal research generated by ChatGPT. Similarly, the "robot lawyer" company DoNotPay was slapped with a $193,000 settlement by the FTC in February for falsely claiming that its AI legal representation matched the effectiveness of human lawyers.
These cases highlight the importance of transparency and caution when integrating AI into legal proceedings. As technology continues to evolve, it's crucial for users to be upfront about their use of AI tools to maintain the integrity and trust within the judicial system.
Related article
Debates over AI benchmarking have reached Pokémon
Even the beloved world of Pokémon isn't immune to the drama surrounding AI benchmarks. A recent viral post on X stirred up quite the buzz, claiming that Google's latest Gemini model had outpaced Anthropic's leading Claude model in the classic Pokémon video game trilogy. According to the post, Gemini
Top 10 AI Marketing Tools for April 2025
Artificial intelligence (AI) is shaking up industries left and right, and marketing is no exception. From small startups to big corporations, businesses are increasingly turning to AI marketing tools to boost their brand visibility and drive their growth. Incorporating these tools into your business
Wikipedia is giving AI developers its data to fend off bot scrapers
Wikipedia's New Strategy to Manage AI Data Scraping
Wikipedia, through the Wikimedia Foundation, is taking a proactive step to manage the impact of AI data scraping on its servers. On Wednesday, they announced a collaboration with Kaggle, a platform owned by Google and dedicated to data science and
Comments (5)
0/200
![AlbertAllen]()
AlbertAllen
April 20, 2025 at 12:37:23 PM GMT
Using an AI 'lawyer' in court? That's wild! Jerome's idea was innovative but clearly backfired. The judge's reaction was priceless! 😂 Maybe next time, stick to human lawyers for serious cases. Still, gotta admire the guts to try something so out there!
0
![WalterWhite]()
WalterWhite
April 19, 2025 at 3:47:38 AM GMT
裁判所でAIの「弁護士」を使うなんて、驚きですね！ジェロームのアイデアは革新的でしたが、明らかに失敗しました。裁判官の反応が最高でした！😂 次回は、重要なケースでは人間の弁護士を使うべきですね。それでも、そんな大胆な試みをする勇気は称賛に値します！
0
![AlbertThomas]()
AlbertThomas
April 18, 2025 at 10:02:51 PM GMT
법정에서 AI '변호사'를 사용하다니, 정말 대단해요! 제롬의 아이디어는 혁신적이었지만, 분명히 실패했어요. 판사의 반응이 최고였어요! 😂 다음에는 중요한 사건에서는 인간 변호사를 고수하는 게 좋겠어요. 그래도 이렇게 대담한 시도를 한 용기는 칭찬받아 마땅해요!
0
![GeorgeTaylor]()
GeorgeTaylor
April 19, 2025 at 5:17:21 AM GMT
Usar um 'advogado' gerado por IA no tribunal? Isso é loucura! A ideia de Jerome foi inovadora, mas claramente deu errado. A reação do juiz foi impagável! 😂 Talvez na próxima vez, fique com advogados humanos para casos sérios. Ainda assim, é preciso admirar a coragem de tentar algo tão ousado!
0
![BruceSmith]()
BruceSmith
April 19, 2025 at 11:33:57 AM GMT
¡Usar un 'abogado' generado por IA en la corte? ¡Eso es una locura! La idea de Jerome fue innovadora, pero claramente falló. ¡La reacción del juez fue impagable! 😂 Tal vez la próxima vez, quédate con abogados humanos para casos serios. Aún así, hay que admirar el valor de intentar algo tan audaz!
0
April 18, 2025
FredAllen
52
A man's bold move to use an AI-generated avatar in his legal appeal certainly caught the attention of a New York courtroom, though not in the way he might have hoped.
Jerome Dewald, a 74-year-old entrepreneur behind a startup claiming to "revolutionize legal self-representation with AI," faced a stern rebuke during an employment dispute hearing on March 26th. The issue? He failed to disclose to the judges that the person presenting his oral argument was artificially generated. Although the court had given Dewald the green light to submit a video, Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels was taken aback when an unfamiliar face, clearly not Dewald, appeared on screen.
"Hold on," Manzanet-Daniels interjected, barely a sentence into the avatar's speech. "Is that counsel for the case?"
"I generated that," Dewald admitted. "It's not a real person."
Dewald explained to *The Register* that the avatar, a "big, beautiful hunk of a guy" named Jim, was one of the stock options from an AI avatar company called Tavus. He submitted the video due to his challenges with prolonged speaking, but the court was unaware that the video was AI-generated.
"It would have been nice to know that when you made your application. You did not tell me that, sir, I don't appreciate being misled," Manzanet-Daniels retorted after Dewald's confession. "You are not going to use this courtroom as a launch for your business."
Recent AI Mishaps in Legal Settings
This incident is part of a growing list of mishaps where AI and legal processes intersect. In 2023, two attorneys and their law firm faced penalties for submitting fictitious legal research generated by ChatGPT. Similarly, the "robot lawyer" company DoNotPay was slapped with a $193,000 settlement by the FTC in February for falsely claiming that its AI legal representation matched the effectiveness of human lawyers.
These cases highlight the importance of transparency and caution when integrating AI into legal proceedings. As technology continues to evolve, it's crucial for users to be upfront about their use of AI tools to maintain the integrity and trust within the judicial system.
Debates over AI benchmarking have reached Pokémon
Even the beloved world of Pokémon isn't immune to the drama surrounding AI benchmarks. A recent viral post on X stirred up quite the buzz, claiming that Google's latest Gemini model had outpaced Anthropic's leading Claude model in the classic Pokémon video game trilogy. According to the post, Gemini
Top 10 AI Marketing Tools for April 2025
Artificial intelligence (AI) is shaking up industries left and right, and marketing is no exception. From small startups to big corporations, businesses are increasingly turning to AI marketing tools to boost their brand visibility and drive their growth. Incorporating these tools into your business
Wikipedia is giving AI developers its data to fend off bot scrapers
Wikipedia's New Strategy to Manage AI Data Scraping
Wikipedia, through the Wikimedia Foundation, is taking a proactive step to manage the impact of AI data scraping on its servers. On Wednesday, they announced a collaboration with Kaggle, a platform owned by Google and dedicated to data science and
April 20, 2025 at 12:37:23 PM GMT
Using an AI 'lawyer' in court? That's wild! Jerome's idea was innovative but clearly backfired. The judge's reaction was priceless! 😂 Maybe next time, stick to human lawyers for serious cases. Still, gotta admire the guts to try something so out there!
0
April 19, 2025 at 3:47:38 AM GMT
裁判所でAIの「弁護士」を使うなんて、驚きですね！ジェロームのアイデアは革新的でしたが、明らかに失敗しました。裁判官の反応が最高でした！😂 次回は、重要なケースでは人間の弁護士を使うべきですね。それでも、そんな大胆な試みをする勇気は称賛に値します！
0
April 18, 2025 at 10:02:51 PM GMT
법정에서 AI '변호사'를 사용하다니, 정말 대단해요! 제롬의 아이디어는 혁신적이었지만, 분명히 실패했어요. 판사의 반응이 최고였어요! 😂 다음에는 중요한 사건에서는 인간 변호사를 고수하는 게 좋겠어요. 그래도 이렇게 대담한 시도를 한 용기는 칭찬받아 마땅해요!
0
April 19, 2025 at 5:17:21 AM GMT
Usar um 'advogado' gerado por IA no tribunal? Isso é loucura! A ideia de Jerome foi inovadora, mas claramente deu errado. A reação do juiz foi impagável! 😂 Talvez na próxima vez, fique com advogados humanos para casos sérios. Ainda assim, é preciso admirar a coragem de tentar algo tão ousado!
0
April 19, 2025 at 11:33:57 AM GMT
¡Usar un 'abogado' generado por IA en la corte? ¡Eso es una locura! La idea de Jerome fue innovadora, pero claramente falló. ¡La reacción del juez fue impagable! 😂 Tal vez la próxima vez, quédate con abogados humanos para casos serios. Aún así, hay que admirar el valor de intentar algo tan audaz!
0
