Michael Cohen Used AI To Feed Lawyer Bogus Cases (nytimes.com) 52
Michael D. Cohen, the onetime fixer for former President Donald J. Trump, said in newly unsealed court papers that he had mistakenly given his lawyer bogus legal citations after the AI program Google Bard cooked them up for him. From a report: The fictitious citations were then used in a motion provided to a Manhattan federal judge. Mr. Cohen, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations and served time in prison, had asked for an early end to court supervision of his case now that he was out of prison and had complied with the conditions of his release. In a sworn declaration made public on Friday, Mr. Cohen explained that he had not kept up with "emerging trends (and related risks) in legal technology and did not realize that Google Bard was a generative text service that, like ChatGPT, could show citations and descriptions that looked real but actually were not."
He also said he did not realize that the lawyer filing the motion on his behalf, David M. Schwartz, "would drop the cases into his submission wholesale without even confirming that they existed." The revelation could have serious implications for the Manhattan criminal case against Mr. Trump, in which Mr. Cohen is expected to serve as the star witness. The former president's lawyers have long attacked Mr. Cohen as a serial fabulist; now, they will have a brand-new example.
He also said he did not realize that the lawyer filing the motion on his behalf, David M. Schwartz, "would drop the cases into his submission wholesale without even confirming that they existed." The revelation could have serious implications for the Manhattan criminal case against Mr. Trump, in which Mr. Cohen is expected to serve as the star witness. The former president's lawyers have long attacked Mr. Cohen as a serial fabulist; now, they will have a brand-new example.
If you think AI actually is intelligent... (Score:3)
you aren't.
Re: If you think AI actually is intelligent... (Score:2)
Oh the irony (Score:2, Insightful)
"The former president's lawyers have long attacked Mr. Cohen as a serial fabulist; now, they will have a brand-new example."
Of course, that fact is precisely WHY he was Donald Trump's laywer for so long in the first place. Trump hired Cohen BECAUSE he was a slime-ball. That was no accident.
So to my eyes at least, the less reputable Cohen is shown to be, the more poorly it reflects on the orange hued ding dong who retained him for all those years.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Trump's just doing with him what he has done with everyone who crossed his path: Use him, then throw him under the bus.
Quite seriously, if I had to shake hands with the Annoying Orange, I'd not only make sure to count my fingers afterwards, I would make sure I have a notarized document first that shows that I did have 5 fingers before shaking hands with him.
Re: (Score:2, Troll)
Use him, then throw him under the bus.
Yup. Remember Cassidy Hutchinson? The person the Oompa Loompa said the following after she testified to Congress [newsweek.com] what she observed when the attempted overthrow of the government was going on:
"I hardly know who this person, Cassidy Hutchinson, is, other than I heard very negative things about her (a total phony and "leaker"), and when she requested to go with certain others of the team to Florida after my having served a full term in office, I personally turned her request down. Why did she want to go with us if she felt we were so terrible? I understand that she was very upset and angry that I didn't want her to go, or be a member of the team. She is bad news," he wrote.
Yeah, this is how bad she was [imgur.com].
Also, remember Christopher Wray? The guy the con artist nominated to head the FBI? Here's what was said [imgur.com] at that time.
And yet [businessinsider.com] . . .
"Do you want to know who the worst member of my administration is?" Trump asked Christie, according to the book, "Republican Rescue." "Your guy. Your guy Chris Wray. He's the worst."
If you're not groveling at his clown shoes, if you're not a sycophant, you're nobody. The only thing the narcissist want
Re: (Score:2)
Now, this is hardly something that singles him out, narcissists have been littering that office for a while now.
What's new is that the narcissist has zero intuition which of his sycophants are qualified for any kind of office. So far, the narcissist assholes at least had some idea who to promote to which office so they don't make him appear like a total idiot for promoting that tool to this office.
Re: (Score:2, Troll)
For Trump, all the problems are someone else's fault. He bragged loudly about how he was going to hire only the BEST people for his administration. Yet he knew nothing about them. If he was going to hire great people, and he felt that he was great himself, wouldn't it make sense to vet some of these people? Blaming Christie is just another sign of problems with Trump.
Of course, the reason Trump hated all his administration members were: put their loyalty to country or the office ahead of loyalty to Trump
Re: (Score:2)
So far, all we have is evidence that Biden's son attempted to trade on his last name and that Joe would... have none of it.
Contrast to Jared "I had to amend my SF-86 a dozen times because I couldn't stop lying on my way through the parking lot" Kushner being granted a security clearance he should never, ever have been allowed within sight of. After which he began viewing large numbers of documents he had no reason to. And shortly after th
Re: (Score:2)
"Fixer" lol, Joe Lyin Biden is 10x the scumbag Trump is.
Good, common ground then, we agree Trump is a lying scumbag. Moving on.
So why not pick one of the other primary candidates, any of which would cream Biden in the general election? All of which are less of a scumbag than Trump?
Why Trump? The corrupt faithless narcissist new york democrat voter? Is it just the hat that you find irresistible? or the racism?
Re: (Score:2)
All of which are less of a scumbag than Trump?
Are they, though? Trump is just far less intelligent. He also doesn't realize how history will perceive him. Bush 1 & 2 and Reagan were just as big scumbags, they just tried to act presidential while doing scumbag things.
It was bound to happen that after decades of the Republicans being a racist party pandering to the stupid and corrupt that some idiot would slip up and start being literal.
Re: (Score:3)
Bush 1 & 2 and Reagan were just as big scumbags
No, that's really not true. All three subscribe to the notion that rich people are just better than poor people, and that it is good for the country to put more of our money into the hands of the rich. But in that way they were, at least, trying to advance the interests of the country. It's an elitist viewpoint, one which places certain people on a pedestal and hopes that they will act magnanimously, but it's still something. Compared to nothing.
And yes, they made some horrible rhetoric along the way in
Re: (Score:2)
And yet look at the state of the world during and after Trump. Ukraine and Middle east, specifically.
Perhaps the former had something to do with Victoria Nuland, top neocon Robert Kagan's also neocon wife, who lead the $5bn-US-funded support for overthrowing Ukraine's democratically elected pro-Russian president, being back at the helm as Biden's undersecretary of state.
As for the latter, Trump's "WhatsApp diplomacy" got Jews and Arabs together for the first time in years if not decades.
Didn't last long. Ev
Re: (Score:2)
Putin is currently stalli
Re: (Score:2)
"And yet look at the state of the world during and after Trump. Ukraine and Middle east, specifically."
Much of what a president has they inherit from the previous one, and much of what a president does is inherited by the next one. And I credit Trump on either issue you mention about the same amount as I blame Trump for causing COVID-19 -- That is: Zero.
Why? Putin has been taking bites off Ukraine for a while now, annexing Crimea, propping up separatists in Donetsk etc. This has been telgraphed for
Re: (Score:2)
> And you think he wouldn't have invaded under Trump? Why on earth do you think that?
Because he DIDN'T invade under Trump. And he didn't need to wait for four years to get ready. And I explained what the difference was with Trump vs Biden re neocons.
> It didn't fall apart BECAUSE of Biden, it would have happened if Trump had been re-elected too.
A meaningless hypothetical, impossible to prove, not even wrong. You should know better.
Except you can't, because the idea of Trump has scarred your mind forev
Switch off (Score:4, Insightful)
Thank you, slashdot, for posting radicalizing, polarizing, and fecal agitprop masquerading as tech news.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
From the “fuck your feelings” crowd no less. You’re telling me the man who bankrupted a casino hired incompetent lawyers?
Re: (Score:2)
You’re telling me the man who bankrupted a casino hired incompetent lawyers?
Correction. Three casinos [yahoo.com]. Not to mention the publicly traded company [forbes.com] which went under [marketwatch.com].
Re: (Score:2)
People are surely going to believe you alarmist lefties. Russia collusion, pee pee gate, Trump watching chimps all day, Trump selling documents to Russia, everything is a lie or at least a twist designed to damage Trump, and in the last 8 years all unproven. (muh but he did ubstruktion!! but but jan6! but but mean tweets!)
When trying to engage with people like you, the usual reply is an unsourced quote from some Reddit sticky pointing to more alleged accusations, sourced by publications such as the Guardia
Re: (Score:2)
You’re telling me the man who bankrupted a casino hired incompetent lawyers?
That's ok. It's not like he paid them.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
We must be remembering these events very differently.
Not surprising (Score:4, Interesting)
I mean, this guy represented a man who has no regard for the truth, and went to prison for it. Many lawyers are dishonest, but take care to stay out of actual legal trouble. It doesn't seem so surprising that he wouldn't take a shortcut and then fail to check the citations.
Re: (Score:2)
If you lie down with the dogs, don't act surprised when you wake up covered in fleas.
This is not the win (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Cohen is only the 100,000th person this year whoâ(TM)s been caught in this type of situation.
If by 100,000th you mean like the 3rd then sure. Hyperbole doesn't do your point any favours, and the other two well documented cases of lawyers submitting false articles due to being generated by AI got in the deepest of shit.
This may actually be a significant win for the MAGA crowd.
Well (Score:4, Interesting)
Someone certainly isn’t sending the best and brightest.
He's a lawyer... (Score:2)
Yes, he was a lawyer...but no one ever said he was a good lawyer.
And although I appreciate his candor and his attempt to turn over a new leaf, the fact is that he probably wouldn't have been associated with Trump if he had been a good lawyer.
Re:[He's a lawyer, not a good lawyer] (Score:1)
It's been clear Don values loyalty (yessers) over competence when hiring. Rudy was often drunk and Don never seemed to give a shit.
He's been disbarred (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
I say lock him up for practicing law without a license.
Did he though? He submitted nothing to the court. His lawyers did. Now they are potentially in legal hot water. He however did a great job of potentially discrediting himself in wide reaching ways.
Re: (Score:1)
Woud you like some cheese with that whine?
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
He's drinking Kool Aid.
Re: (Score:3)
Why would he need to pardon himself, again? I thought he had immunity, or did nothing wrong, or any of the other horseshit excuses and lies told over the last 3 years, which never pass even the most objective of laugh tests?
I seriously don't understand why anyone would support a guy who accomplished nothing in 4 years besides cratering the economy through a horrific covid response, and being the sorest loser in the history of losing to the point of incitement of insurrection.
What possible policy stance or
Re: (Score:2)
Ironic that TDS best describes Trump supporters. Derangement syndromes are for people extremely out of touch with reality and the cause OR the discoverer can be part of the NAME.
In this case, Trump is the cause (in a sense) and also the one who "discovered it" (but incorrectly... since he doesn't purposely try to be projecting in every attack he says... but he does because he's crazy.)
Re: (Score:3)
Well if republicans agree that the president has 100% criminal immunity for life then what's stopping Biden from strolling into the supreme court and "retiring" the Trump appointed judges?
Re: (Score:2)
They don't think that far ahead. Like, ever.
It's the same hilarity as the bullshit "impeachment inquiry" that every single hypothetical "closeted sane GOP" congress critter voted for. What do they think they're going to get out of a President Harris that they wouldn't get from Biden, other than taking the single criticism of Biden that can't be taken off the table (age), off the table while simultaneously giving women something else to vote for?
Nothing but ruin lies down that road, but because they can't
Re: (Score:2)
I think you simps meant "-1, doesn't agree with my politics and must be silenced" ?
May the Schwartz be with you (Score:2)
n/t