Plaintiff Jerome Dewald, representing himself in an employment-related appeal, submitted a video to the court of an AI-generated avatar of himself. He later apologized.
A 74-year-old man has apologized to a panel of appellate New York State judges after presenting an AI-generated digital avatar in a legal appeal — a move that has sparked concerns over transparency and ethics in the courtroom.
At the March 26 hearing, plaintiff Jerome Dewald, representing himself in an employment-related appeal, submitted a video of a youthful-looking man speaking directly to the court on a video screen. After the video played for a few seconds, one of the judges expressed confusion about who the man was. Dewald then admitted that the man was not real but an AI-generated creation.
“It would have been nice to know that when you made your application,” said Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels, according to The New York Times. “I don’t appreciate being misled.
