In a courtroom twist that reads more like science fiction than legal procedure, a 74-year-old man’s attempt to use an AI-generated avatar to present his legal appeal has backfired — and drawn the ire of a New York judge.
Jerome Dewald, the founder of a startup that claims to be “revolutionising legal self-representation with AI,” appeared before the court in a March 26 employment dispute through a pre-recorded video. However, the person onscreen was not Dewald — it was a slick, AI-generated avatar named “Jim,” described by Dewald as a “big, beautiful hunk of a guy” created using tools from AI company Tavus.
The court had approved Dewald’s request to submit a video due to his difficulty with extended speaking. But Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels halted the proceedings as soon as the unfamiliar face began addressing the bench. “Is that counsel for the case?” she asked. When Dewald admitted it wasn’t a real person, she was visibly unimpressed. “You did not tell me that, sir. I don’t appreciate being misled. You will not use this courtroom as a launch for your business.”
This isn’t the first time AI has disrupted courtrooms for the wrong reasons. In 2023, two lawyers and their firm were sanctioned for filing legal briefs filled with fictitious cases generated by Chatgpt. In February, DoNotPay—the self-described “robot lawyer” service—was fined $193,000 by the Federal Trade Commission for falsely claiming its AI could match the skill of human attorneys.
As the legal world grapples with AI’s promise and peril, Dewald’s courtroom stunt is a fresh reminder that the future of legal tech may be arriving fast, but judges still expect transparency, not theatrics.
Source: The Verge
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