How a ChatGPT user ‘embarrassed’ 3M in court
An expert witness hired by 3M in a lawsuit regarding a 2020 factory explosion admitted that his report was largely generated by ChatGPT. The revelation occurred during court discovery, highlighting the risks of using AI to draft technical legal documents.
Why it matters
This case serves as a cautionary tale for the legal and engineering professions regarding the reliability and ethical implications of using AI in expert testimony.
3M hired an expert witness to prepare a report about a 2020 Houston explosion that killed three people and destroyed roughly 200 homes. The witness reportedly used ChatGPT to write significant portions of his expert report, with the use of AI coming to light after prompts he used while preparing the report were revealed during court proceedings.The prompts showed that Josh Autenrieth of Knighthawk Engineering asked ChatGPT to help him "create an exceptional expert witness report defending the standard of care at 3M" and to "show how 3M is 0% at fault for the explosion at Watson Grinding." During testimony, Autenrieth acknowledged using ChatGPT and said the submitted report was "90 to 85% ChatGPT."ChatGPT prompts used for the 3M expert reportThe case concerns the January 2020 explosion at Watson Grinding, a Houston manufacturing facility.
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