OBA president Kathryn Manning says the program will help lawyers recognize suspect evidence
In February, Canada saw its first known instance of litigation involving fake case law that had been “hallucinated” by ChatGPT. Coupled with similar incidents in the US, that case before the BC Supreme Court was indicative of some of the most pressing issues that an artificial intelligence subcommittee with the Ontario Court of Appeal aimed to address.
That’s according to OCA Justice Peter Lauwers, who told the Ontario Bar Association last year that such uses of generative AI threatened to “pollute the case law.” Lauwers, who both launched and chairs the subcommittee, also identified AI-generated evidence as a potential peril for trial courts that the subcommittee expects to tackle.
On November 1st and 29th, the Ontario Bar Association will support the subcommittee’s work by hosting a program that aims to help litigators navigate the evidentiary issues that can arise from generative AI. Lauwers spearheaded the upcoming program with OBA president Kathryn Manning, who also sits on the OCA’s AI subcommittee.
“Justice Lauwers actually had an idea that it would be great to educate people – the bench and bar – about AI used in court,” Manning says. When she approached the OBA with the idea, she says, it was very interested because the program “fits in with a lot of the OBA initiatives already on artificial intelligence.
“The OBA is very focused on providing lawyers with the tools, the education so that they can both understand AI and use it effectively and efficiently in all types of areas of law,” Manning adds.
Manning says the OBA aims to address two concerns with the November program. In addition to the potential for seeing more unreliable or fake evidence in trial settings, many lawyers are hesitant about using generative AI tools responsibly and ethically.
“AI can have a lot of advantages, but they have concerns that it won't be used properly and that they don't understand it, like with any new technology,” Manning says. She notes that non-generative AI tools – like electronic discovery tools, which can assist with large document reviews – have been a standard part of the litigation process for years and were initially met with skepticism. But generative AI presents new challenges.
The OBA program will “tackle the key issues that litigation lawyers are facing now,” Manning says. These include sessions on AI-generated evidence and the use of AI in formulating expert opinions. The program also aims to help lawyers understand different AI tools “so that they know what questions to ask and how to challenge the evidence and the tool,” Manning adds.
The program will bring together members of the judiciary, litigators, and AI experts.
“It really marries the academic with the practical,” Manning says. 
