- The AI Verdict
- Posts
- Your weekly update [06/23]
Your weekly update [06/23]
G M
June 23, 2023
Welcome back to the newsletter dedicated to the evolving relationship of artificial intelligence and law.
What you need to know this week:
Let’s jump in. [2-3 min read]
Enacted Bills:
In 2023, U.S. state legislatures enacted four bills, which were omnibus consumer privacy laws from Indiana, Montana, Tennessee, and Texas, each including AI-related provisions within a broader privacy framework.
These laws establish guidelines for the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data, and confer various data privacy rights to individuals.
The enacted laws provide the right for individuals to opt out of the use of AI in making automated decisions for certain legally significant matters, such as employment, housing, or credit access.
Additionally, they introduce requirements and safeguards to minimize bias where automated decision-making occurs.
Failed Bills:
Twenty-one proposed bills, seeking to address specific AI use cases or requirements for transparency in AI-generated content, failed to pass in the current legislative term.
Notably, California’s AB 311, which aimed to regulate AI tools for making consequential decisions impacting individual rights and opportunities, was among the failed bills.
Active Bills:
Currently, eighteen bills are active and undergoing legislative review, with topics ranging from AI governance, accountability, auditing, and transparency to sector-specific regulations, such as AI deployment in mental health services, hiring, and insurance underwriting.
Connecticut made a significant move by regulating government use of AI, which is a first, and this sets the stage for potential regulation of private sector AI in the future.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has unveiled a legislative framework for regulating artificial intelligence called the SAFE Innovation for AI.
The framework has five central pillars: security, accountability, foundations, explain, and innovation.
Schumer has warned that Congress must act now or risk losing the chance to regulate AI.
He also announced a series of “AI Insight Forums” in the fall featuring top AI developers, executives, scientists, community leaders, and national security experts to form the foundation for more detailed policy proposals for Congress.
Schumer argued that AI can transform life on Earth for the better, but also warned about its potential dangers, including worker displacement, misinformation campaigns, and election interference that could happen as soon as 2024.
On Tuesday, a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers rolled out legislation, the National AI Commission Act, that would create a blue-ribbon commission of experts to study and evaluate the best way for the U.S. to regulate AI.
Schumer has been in close contact with White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, who is leading Biden’s strategy on AI, and he has formed a bipartisan AI working group.
Schumer argued that a novel approach is needed to meet the moment on AI and that the AI forums would focus on a variety of topics, including copyright and intellectual property, national security, workforce, and “guarding against doomsday scenarios.”
Lawyers who submitted fake case citations generated by ChatGPT have been fined $5,000 and ordered to send letters to the judges whose names were wrongfully invoked, in a ruling by U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel of the Southern District of New York.
Castel found that Steven Schwartz of Levidow, Levidow & Oberman and his associate Peter LoDuca acted in bad faith when they made false statements to the court, but did not order them to apologize.
Schwartz previously told Castel he “deeply regret[s]” the incident, and a representative for Levidow, Levidow & Oberman said the firm is weighing its options and has not yet decided whether it may appeal Castel’s order.
Castel found that further mandatory education for the attorneys would be redundant, as the firm has already arranged to conduct a mandatory CLE program on technological competence and artificial intelligence programs and plans to hold mandatory training on notarization practices.
Castel declined to order the reimbursement of attorneys’ fees or expenses for the defendant in the case, the airline Avianca, and granted its motion to dismiss the underlying lawsuit.
Generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, can produce documents faster than paralegals, but often require prompts to ensure complete and accurate legal documents, as seen in an experiment conducted at George Washington University.
Despite producing occasional errors and false information, generative AI can identify and categorize legal documents much quicker than a paralegal, leading to concern among the over 350,000 paralegals and legal assistants in the U.S.
Seventeen of the largest U.S. law firms now permit their lawyers to use ChatGPT within specific boundaries, indicating a growing acceptance of AI in the legal profession.
Generative AI can automate tasks like document review, legal research, and drafting contracts, but it cannot replace the nuanced decision-making, human expertise, and interpersonal skills of paralegals.
AI tools are being utilized to create first drafts of various legal documents, with human legal professionals still required to finalize them. This is demonstrated at Allen & Overy, where an AI tool is used to draft research memos, emails, and contract analyses, among others.
It's hoped that generative AI will make paralegals more efficient, allowing them to focus on areas where they have a comparative advantage, such as critical thinking. This, however, requires learning how to use AI tools effectively, a sentiment echoed by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations and legal academics.
This week’s top tech
Engage AI [Sponsored]
Use GPT4 to Comment with 1 Click on LinkedIn Prospects
“Join 15,000+ LinkedIn power users and supercharge your social selling with Engage AI! Imagine effortlessly writing insightful comments that break the ice and build relationships with prospects. With Engage AI as your comment writing assistant, you'll save precious time while achieving conversions with every added touchpoint. Give Engage AI a spin and transform your LinkedIn conversations into powerful conversion tools today.” Get Started
LexisNexis launched Lexis+ AI, a platform using its legal data and AI to enable research and drafting. With conversational search, summarization, and document generation, Lexis+ AI aims to transform legal work. Partnering with law firms for feedback, LexisNexis, a leader in legal AI, responsibly develops solutions considering impact and preventing bias.
Stable [Sponsored]
“Stable is a virtual address & mailbox for startups. We've helped over 1400 companies like Jeeves, Indiegogo, and Openphone set up a permanent business address and manage their mail online. 🏢 1 business address for all company documents & mail 👩🏫 Get help switching your address with the IRS, state, banks, payroll, etc 📨 Open, view, forward, and shred your mail online ⚡ Automations & integrations with tools like Slack & Drive 💕 Addresses in SF, NYC, Miami, Austin & Delaware”
If you’d like to sponsor an edition of the AI Verdict, please reach out via [email protected]
See you next Friday.