Understanding AI Hallucinations: Feature, Not Flaw
In the legal world, an AI “hallucination” refers to a situation where a language model fabricates facts, citations, or quotes that appear real but are entirely false. Contrary to public misconception, these hallucinations aren’t bugs—they’re a known feature of generative models attempting to mimic human reasoning without understanding truth.
Attorneys using AI must understand that AI-generated content should be treated as a rough draft at best, not as a final, court-ready product. The lack of basic verification on the part of Lindell’s counsel demonstrates not only a failure of due diligence but a failure to understand what AI is and isn’t.
What They Should Have Done Instead Had the attorneys understood the core principles of prompt engineering and AI limitations, they could have used their original draft to command AI assistance more precisely. For example:
Sample Prompt Template for Safe Legal Drafting with AI:
“Using the motion draft provided below, refine the language to be more persuasive and legally sound, but do not fabricate case law. Cite only verified, real legal authorities and include accurate, verbatim quotations from the cited cases. Clearly mark any sources or citations that should be manually verified before submission.”
CRITICAL INSTRUCTIONS:- Preserve all original citations exactly as provided- Flag any legal assertions that may need additional support- Do not fabricate any legal authorities, case names, or quotations- Maintain original legal arguments while improving presentation
Attorneys should then cross-check each citation and quote for accuracy. This process preserves the strengths of AI (clarity, structure, persuasion) without inviting the risk of unverified or fictional content.
This approach would have allowed the attorneys to leverage AI’s strengths in organization and prose enhancement while avoiding the fatal trap of fabricated citations.
The Delegation Misstep: A Fatal Error Kachouroff’s delegation of citation-checking duties to DeMaster without ensuring it was completed properly highlights a second critical error: the failure of legal leadership and accountability. In a profession where ethical standards and accuracy are paramount, delegating AI-generated content without oversight is a dereliction of duty.
Judge Wang was clear: the sanctions issued were “the least severe sanction adequate to deter and punish defense counsel in this instance.” Yet for the legal community, the implications are far more lasting.
