Man gets 'AI lawyer' to argue his case in court — the judge raised her hands the moment she realized it

Artificial intelligence has entered a lot of spheres of our lives and has changed quite a few things. But it might not be welcome in a New York courtroom just yet. One can say that after looking at the judge's reaction when a plaintiff used an AI-generated lawyer to present his case in court without mentioning the same in his application. The judge strongly responded to the man and told him he couldn't use AI in the courtroom, according to USA Today.

"May it please the court, I come here today a humble pro se before a panel of five distinguished justices," the AI avatar began. A judge immediately noticed that something was wrong and asked the person to stop. "Is that counsel for the case?" she asked. The man confirmed that and said, "I generated that. That’s not a real person." The judge told him, "Okay, it would have been nice to know that when you made your application. You did not tell me that, sir." She added, "I received your application, and you have appeared before this court earlier, and you have been able to testify verbally." The woman pointed out how the plaintiff had also been to her clerk's office in the past and held verbal conversations for more than 30 minutes.

"I don't appreciate being misled," the judge firmly remarked. "If you want to have oral argument time, you may stand up and give it to me." The man, Jerome Dewald, the plaintiff in an employment dispute case, had asked for the court's permission to play a pre-recorded video, per the outlet. Dewald had used a product by a San Francisco tech company to generate the AI avatar. The man apologized to the court later on and admitted that he used AI because he felt that it would deliver a clear-cut argument without making any verbal errors. Many people shared their thoughts in the comments section of the YouTube video.

@CatherineBoston wrote, "Yes, ma'am. She can give lessons on the law. Doesn't he realize AI wouldn't be allowed due to the easy ability to manipulate the product?" @grnhrntskato commented, "I have discussed the issue of AI with my fellow police trainers. Our candidates are not allowed to use AI when writing their assignments. Many believe this is cheating. However, more and more businesses and public figures are pushing AI in all aspects of the professional working environment. We may not like it, but it is the way of the future. If an accused is putting forward a brief and the contents are true, does it matter that the arrangement of the words is handled by an AI? This is the same premise as word processors. The spelling isn't the writer's after it is corrected. It will be interesting to see where this goes in the justice system."

The man didn't have a lawyer to argue his case and hoped to use AI instead, per CNN. He also submitted a letter apologizing to the court and explaining his reason, per Fox News. Dewald clarified that it was not his intention to cause any kind of harm. The man had earlier thought of using an AI avatar of himself but later went with a tech company's product, according to the outlet.