Utah Lawyers Approved After Using ChatGPT in Court: An Overview

The Utah Court of Appeals has sanctioned the attorney after it was found that he utilized ChatGPT in a filing that referenced a fictitious trial.

Earlier this week, the Utah Court of Appeals chose to take action against Richard Bednar following accusations that he submitted a brief with fabricated citations.

Based on reviewed court documents, By ABC4, Bednar along with Douglas Dalbano, another attorney from Utah who represented the petitioners, filed a “timely petition for dialogue appeal.”

Upon examining the summary prepared by the Law Clerk, it was revealed that the respondent’s counsel noted several inaccurate quotes in the case.

“It seems that parts of the petition may have been produced by AI, including citations that do not exist in the legal database (and can only be found in ChatGPT).

The report highlights that the brief cited a case named “Royer v Nelson,” which was absent from any legal database.

After discovering the false citation, Bednar expressed his “apologies” for the “errors present in the petition,” according to documents from the Utah Court of Appeals. During the April hearing, Bednar and his legal team acknowledged, “The petition contained fabricated legal authority acquired from ChatGPT and accepted responsibility for its contents.”

According to Bednar and his legal team, the “unlicensed legal assistant” drafted the outline, and Bednar did not conduct an “independent accuracy check” before filing. ABC4 further reported that Dalbano was not involved in crafting the petition, and the individual responsible for filing was a law school graduate who was subsequently let go from the firm.

The report added that Bednar had offered to cover the relevant attorneys’ fees to “rectify” the situation.

In a statement made public by ABC4, the Utah Court of Appeals commented: “I concur that employing AI for lawsuit preparation is a developing legal research tool that continues to evolve alongside technological advancements. Nonetheless, all attorneys must ensure that court submissions are accurate, emphasizing that claimants’ attorneys are liable for their filings. They included fictitious precedents produced by ChatGPT.”

As a consequence of the false citation, ABC4 reports that Bednar has been ordered to cover the respondent’s attorneys’ fees for the petition and the hearing, refund clients for time spent on preparation and attendance, and donate $1,000 to legal nonprofits and justice initiatives based in Utah.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Elon Musk’s $45 Billion Compensation Package Approved by Tesla Shareholders

Tesla shareholders have given their approval to a contentious referendum regarding CEO Elon Musk’s leadership, resulting in an agreement to pay him $45bn (£35.3bn).

The results, which were released on Thursday, reflect a struggle for the billionaire tycoon to retain the largest compensation package ever awarded to an executive at a publicly traded U.S. company.

“First of all, I want to say I love you guys so much!” said Musk, expressing his elation as he took the stage after the vote.


The vote followed a ruling by a Delaware judge in January that invalidated a previous payment to Musk, which was then valued at about $56bn (£439m), citing lack of board independence from Musk’s influence and an unlawful process in reaching the amount.

The outcome is seen as a win for Musk and the Tesla board, who actively lobbied shareholders to support the deal. It could potentially challenge the judge’s decision to nullify the payment and aid in demonstrating that shareholders were adequately informed about the payment and directors’ relationships with Musk prior to voting.

Tesla’s board cautioned that Musk may sever ties with the company if the package was not approved, but Musk asserted he had substantial backing from investors.

Despite opposition from major shareholders like Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and the California State Teachers Retirement System, as well as proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services, the vote does not automatically guarantee the release of the funds, and further legal debates are expected.

The vote may trigger additional litigation that could prolong legal proceedings, and the approval of relocating Tesla’s legal headquarters from Delaware to Texas could complicate the matter further.

Tesla initially introduced Musk’s compensation package in 2017, which included stock options based on meeting specific company goals. The package was approved by shareholders in 2018 but faced legal challenges alleging board deception and unfairness.

Judge Katherine McCormick of the Delaware Chancery Court criticized Tesla’s board process for determining Musk’s compensation, highlighting conflicts of interest and close relationships with Musk’s associates. Despite this, the board aims to challenge Judge McCormick’s ruling.

Source: www.theguardian.com

First genetically modified banana approved by regulatory authorities

Most banana plants are vulnerable to the fungal disease TR4

Ann Clark/iStockphoto/Getty Images

For the first time, genetically modified bananas have been approved for cultivation on farms. Regulators in Australia and New Zealand have given the green light to a Cavendish banana variety engineered to be resistant to a devastating fungal disease that is widespread in many countries around the world.

Australian Gene Technology Regulatory Authority issues license Allow commercial growth of modified bananas February 12th.

16 February, Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Approved as food, conclude that it is as safe and nutritious as traditional bananas. The food ministers of Australia and New Zealand can request a review of the decision within the next 60 days. Otherwise, approval is final.

The first banana widely eaten in Western countries was a variety called Gros Michel. However, by the 1950s, fusarium A fungal strain called Tropical Race 1 (TR1), which causes Panama disease, has forced farmers to switch to Cavendish bananas. Although reportedly not as tasty as Gros Michel, Cavendish is highly resistant to TR1.

Now, another stock fusariumIt is called TR4 and is popular all over the world. It can kill many varieties, including Cavendish.

team led by james dale Australia's Queensland University of Technology has created a resistant strain of banana called QCAV-4 by adding genes from wild bananas.

The decision is “a very important step towards creating a global Cavendish Banana safety net with TR4, which is already impacting many parts of the world,” Dale said. statement.

Quarantine measures currently limit the spread of TR4 in Australia, with only a small number of cases occurring each year. Therefore, there are currently no plans to grow QCAV-4 bananas on a large scale or sell them to consumers.

However, other countries where TR4 is more of a problem may decide to adopt genetically modified bananas. Dale's team now plans to use CRISPR gene editing QCAV-4 to make bananas resistant to another major fungal disease called black sigatoka which could mean it's even more attractive to farmers.

A Kenyan research team has already used CRISPR to create a strain of the Gonja Manjaya variety that is free of banana streak virus, a pathogen that integrates into the banana genome.

Genetically modified (GM) crops are now widely grown in many countries around the world, but in some regions, such as the United Kingdom and the European Union, very few crops are approved for cultivation by farmers.

in australia, Only four genetically modified crops have been approved so far. These are safflower, which contains high levels of oleic acid in its oil, and herbicide-resistant rapeseed (canola), Indian mustard, and cotton varieties.

However, Australia and New Zealand have approved Wider range of GM crops and edible products Similar to the situation in the UK and the EU.

topic:

  • Genetic recombination/
  • Eating and drinking

Source: www.newscientist.com