In a 39-0 vote Thursday, state senators signed off on the legislation to amend the state's Business and Professions Code and the Code of Civil Procedure to include guidelines for the use of AI in the legal profession, with no formal opposition speaking up against the move.
Introduced Jan. 5, the bill requires lawyers to ensure that no confidential or nonpublic information is entered into a public AI system. It also mandates that lawyers review any material created by AI to verify its accuracy, and remove any harmful or biased content.
The bill also prohibits arbitrators from relying on generative AI to analyze or decide on matters that come before them, stating in part that arbitrators "shall not delegate any part of their decision-making process to any generative artificial intelligence tool" and "shall avoid delegating any tasks to generative artificial intelligence tools if such use could influence procedural or substantive decisions."
Known as Senate Bill 574, the legislation was authored by state Sen. Tom Umberg, a Democrat representing Orange County.
"I'm pleased to see SB 574 moving forward," Umberg said in a statement on Friday. "As AI becomes more common in the legal system, we need clear guardrails to protect clients' confidentiality and ensure that real people, not algorithms, are making legal decisions."
--Editing by Patrick Reagan.
Update: This article was updated with a statement from state Sen. Tom Umberg.
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