ChatGPT invented fake police testimony in murder appeal, New Mexico high court says

The New Mexico Supreme Court fined attorney Stephen Aarons $5,000 and held him in contempt for submitting a murder appeal brief containing fabricated police testimony and witnesses generated by OpenAI's ChatGPT. Aarons, who was appealing the conviction of Oscar Renee Sandoval, stated he used ChatGPT to summarize trial proceedings and did not understand the extent to which AI could "hallucinate" facts. The court noted Aarons' "lack of remorse and a lack of concern for his client" and will refer him to a disciplinary board. This incident is part of a growing trend of lawyers being sanctioned for unverified AI-generated court documents, with Justice C. Shannon Bacon remarking, "the problem with lawyers relying on AI hallucinations is an above-the-fold story every single day.”