--- title: "Judge Uses ChatGPT to Issue Ruling in Court Case" description: "A judge has used ChatGPT to make a court ruling, Vice reports, a surprising decision given the AI's inability to always tell the truth." date: "2023-02-06" modified: "2023-02-06" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/judge-uses-chatgpt-issue-ruling-court-case" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" tags: - "chatgpt" - "court case" - "OpenAI" - "the digest" --- # Judge Uses ChatGPT to Issue Ruling in Court Case ![A judge has used ChatGPT to make a court ruling, Vice reports, a surprising decision given the AI's inability to always tell the truth.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Robot Judge For likely the first time ever, a judge has used ChatGPT to make a court ruling, [*Vice* reports]() — a surprising choice, given the AI's [less-than-stellar ability]() to tell the truth. Colombian judge Juan Manuel Padilla Garcia used the text generator to come up with questions about a recent case involving a dispute between a health insurance company and the parents of an autistic child in Cartagena, Colombia's First Circuit Court. "The arguments for this decision will be determined in line with the use of artificial intelligence (AI)," Garcia wrote in [his decision](), as translated by *Vice*. "What we are really looking for is to optimize the time spent drafting judgments after corroborating the information provided by AI." ## Lies and Bias The AI came up with legal questions about the case, which questioned whether a health insurance company should pay coverage for the child. "Is an autistic minor exonerated from paying fees for their therapies?" the AI tool wrote. "Has the jurisprudence of the constitutional court made favorable decisions in similar cases?" Garcia used the AI's full responses in his decision, which is fairly astonishing considering ChatGPT isn't capable of differentiating truth from fiction, and can be [heavily biased]() in its reasoning. It's especially noteworthy considering that the AI startup DoNotPay [recently attempted]() to use an automated "AI lawyer" in a courtroom — but abruptly [canceled its plans]() when CEO Joshua Browder was [threatened with jail time]() by prosecutors if he were to "follow through with bringing a robot lawyer into a physical courtroom." While judge Garcia's motivations are hazy, it's worth noting, his actions could set a worrying legal precedent. **READ MORE:** [A Judge Just Used ChatGPT to Make a Court Decision]() \[*Vice*\] **More on ChatGPT:** *[Scammers Are Already Convincing Idiots They Can Get Rich Using ChatGP]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()