Judges approve the use of ChatGPT in legal rulings

The Judicial Office has issued guidelines to numerous judges, acknowledging the utility of AI in summarising extensive texts and for administrative purposes.

The guidance, however, highlights the limitations of chatbots, noting they are "a poor way of conducting research" and are susceptible to fabricating cases or legal documents.

Additionally, it cautioned about the potential widespread use of bots like ChatGPT by the public in legal cases and the possibility of deepfake technology being employed to create fraudulent evidence.

Sir Geoffrey Vos, the Master of the Rolls, recognised the significant benefits AI can bring to the digital justice system. He stated: “Technology will only move forwards and the judiciary has to understand what is going on. Judges, like everybody else, need to be acutely aware that AI can give inaccurate responses as well as accurate ones.”

Lord Justice Birss, a senior judge, termed ChatGPT as “jolly useful” after using it to summarise a familiar legal area and incorporating it into a court ruling. He clarified that his use of ChatGPT adhered to the guidelines as it didn’t involve any confidential information.

Sir Geoffrey also warned that lawyers could face perjury and criminal sanctions for submissions based on false evidence from chatbots, emphasising: “Nothing changes just because they may have got what they said falsely from an AI chatbot instead of out of their own head.”

Suid Adeyanju, CEO of RiverSafe, a cybersecurity firm, cautioned: “The rise of AI use in legal rulings brings great opportunities but also major cyber risks. It’s vital that organisations using this technology tread carefully and ensure robust security systems are in place.”

Josh Boer, Director at tech consultancy VeUP, commented: “This is the latest example of AI reshaping critical functions, saving time and money by managing administrative tasks. However, many companies lack the skills to embrace it. It’s crucial that organisations get to grips with the latest generative AI capabilities, by embracing AWS and other key platforms, to boost growth through the cloud for the long term.”