Extract from Cheryl Miller’s article “Bill Requiring Lawyers to Track AI Use Shelved for the Year”
A Southern California lawmaker has shelved a bill that would have required attorneys to attest whether they used generative artificial intelligence while drafting a broad range of documents.
An aide to Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal confirmed that AB 2811 will not move this year so the Long Beach Democrat can work with lawyers and judges on the measure in hopes of advancing it next year. Lowenthal is the brother of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Daniel Lowenthal.
AB 2811 was one of dozens of AI-related bills introduced this year as lawmakers reacted to the ever-expanding use of the technology, both in and out of the courtroom. Lowenthal’s bill was among the first to stall as Friday’s procedural deadline approached.
The bill would have forced attorneys to execute, and keep on file for seven years, an affidavit certifying whether generative AI was used to create a document and, if so, that someone checked the text, citations and analysis for accuracy. The bill would have applied to filings, as well as documents an attorney “intends” to file, in state and federal courts in California. Attorneys would have been required to submit an affidavit to a court on request any time within those seven years.
AB 2811 was a response to headline-grabbing reports of lawyers submitting filings that contained fake case citations generated by AI programs. The bill has not been heard in a policy committee, where support and opposition would have been registered.
