Brazil judge investigated for AI errors in ruling

BRAZILIAN authorities confirmed on Monday they are investigating a federal judge who made mistakes in a ruling that was written using artificial intelligence, saying it was the first such case in the country.

The National Justice Council (CNJ), an oversight body for the courts, summoned Judge Jefferson Rodrigues to explain how he came to publish a decision strewn with legal errors formulated by online AI tool ChatGPT.

Rodrigues, a judge in the northern state of Acre, included incorrect details on previous court cases and legal precedent in his ruling, wrongly attributing past decisions to the Superior Court of Justice, according to case records seen by AFP.

The judge said in documents filed with the oversight body that the ruling was written by a “trusted advisor,” with help from AI.

Rodrigues called the situation a “mere mistake”, blaming “the work overload facing judges.”

“We believe this is the first case of its kind” in Brazil, the CNJ said, giving Rodrigues 15 days to provide further explanation.

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The CNJ says increasing numbers of judges are relying on AI. Brazil currently has no laws regulating such use. AFP