The committee, which is holding its first meeting on Wednesday, is tasked with assessing the risks and benefits related to the use of generative AI in courts and making recommendations for maintaining public trust and confidence as AI use increases, according to the court.
Justice Andrew A. Pinson, who is the chair of the committee, said in a statement that despite an abundance of discussion about AI, many of the benefits and risks associated with AI are unknown.
"We hope the work of this committee will educate and guide the judiciary as we explore this new technology," he said.
The committee members represent the key players in the judicial system, including judges, clerks, prosecutors and public defenders.
NCSC will be assisting the committee to accomplish 10 objectives outlined in an order issued by Chief Justice Michael Boggs in August, Shay Cleary, managing director at NCSC, told Law360 Pulse on Tuesday. The objectives include survey of best practices for AI use in courts and impact of AI on trial evidence.
Since technology developer OpenAI debuted its conversational chatbot ChatGPT in November 2022 showcasing the power of generative AI, the technology has flooded the legal industry, with legal tech companies and law firms releasing their own tools leveraging the technology.
While generative AI holds a lot of promise for reducing mundane legal tasks, the technology has not been without its woes. In June 2023, two New York personal injury attorneys were sanctioned for submitting a ChatGPT-generated brief with fake case citations to the court.
Since the New York case, several other courts, including Texas and Missouri state appeals courts, have called out litigants for submitting AI-generated court filings with fake case citations. A Manhattan federal judge also criticized a law firm for using ChatGPT to support its attorney fee request of more than $100,000.
Concerns over fake case citations have led several federal judges to issue standing orders requiring litigants to disclose their use of generative AI and certify that their court filings have been checked for accuracy.
With generative AI taking hold of the legal industry, law firms, courts and bar associations have been forming AI task forces and groups to explore the technology.
At the beginning of the year, the Illinois Supreme Court formed a generative AI task force, and in September, the New York City Bar Association launched its presidential AI task force.
--Editing by Nicole Bleier.
Update: This article has been updated to include more details about NCSC's involvement in the committee.
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