In a startling turn of events, a lawyer’s use of OpenAI‘s chatGPT for legal assistance has backfired as the AI-powered chatbot fabricated nonexistent cases.

What Happened: In a bizarre case surrounding Mata Vs. Avianca, which involved a customer suing the airline for a knee injury caused by a serving cart, the use of chatGPT took a surprising turn.

Mata’s lawyers objected to Avianca’s attempt to dismiss the case and submitted a brief containing numerous purported court decisions generated by the AI-powered chatbot.