Stanford prof accused of using AI to fake testimony in Minnesota case against conservative YouTuber

A Stanford University "misinformation expert" has been accused of utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to trade grounds aboriginal utilized by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison successful a politically-charged case.

Jeff Hancock, a prof of communications and laminitis of the vaunted school's Social Media Lab, provided an adept declaration successful a lawsuit involving a satirical blimpish YouTuber named Christopher Kohls. The tribunal lawsuit is astir Minnesota's caller prohibition connected political deepfakes, which the plaintiffs reason is an onslaught connected escaped speech.

Hancock's grounds was submitted to the tribunal by Ellison, who is arguing successful favour of the law. Hancock is "well-known for his probe connected however radical usage deception with technology, from sending texts and emails to detecting fake online reviews," according to Stanford's website.

But the plaintiff's lawyers person asked the Minnesota national justice proceeding the lawsuit to disregard the testimony, charging that Hancock cited a fake study.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

A Stanford prof is accused of utilizing an AI connection exemplary to constitute an adept declaration. (Getty Images)

"[The] Declaration of Prof. Jeff Hancock cites a survey that does not exist," lawyers argued successful a caller 36-page memo. "No nonfiction by the rubric exists."

The "study" was called "The Influence of Deepfake Videos connected Political Attitudes and Behavior" and was purportedly published successful the Journal of Information Technology & Politics. The Nov. 16 filing notes that the diary is authentic, but had ne'er published a survey by that name.

"The work exists, but the cited pages beryllium to unrelated articles," the lawyers argued. "Likely, the survey was a ‘hallucination’ generated by an AI ample connection model similar ChatGPT."

"Plaintiffs bash not cognize however this hallucination coiled up successful Hancock’s declaration, but it calls the full papers into question, particularly erstwhile overmuch of the commentary contains nary methodology oregon analytic logic whatsoever."

The papers besides calls retired Ellison, arguing that "the conclusions that Ellison astir relies connected person nary methodology down them and dwell wholly of adept say-so."

"Hancock could person cited a existent survey akin to the proposition successful paragraph 21," the memo states. "But the beingness of a fictional citation Hancock (or his assistants) didn’t adjacent fuss to click calls into question the prime and veracity of the full declaration."

BIDEN EXECUTIVE ORDER FOR ‘WOKE’ ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CALLED ‘SOCIAL CANCER’

Microsoft Bing Chat and ChatGPT AI chat applications are seen connected a mobile instrumentality successful this photograph illustration successful Warsaw, Poland, connected July 21, 2023.  (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The memorandum besides doubles down connected the assertion that the citation is bogus, noting the aggregate searches lawyers went done to effort to find the study.

"The rubric of the alleged article, and adjacent a snippet of it, does not look connected anyplace connected the net arsenic indexed by Google and Bing, the astir commonly-used hunt engines," the papers states. "Searching Google Scholar, a specialized hunt motor for world papers and patent publications, reveals nary articles matching the statement of the citation authored by ‘Hwang’ [the purported author] that includes the word ‘deepfake.’"

"Perhaps this was simply a copy-paste error? It’s not," the filing aboriginal flatly states. "The nonfiction doesn’t exist."

The attorneys concluded that, if the declaration were partially fabricated, it is wholly unreliable and should beryllium dismissed from tribunal consideration.

"The declaration of Prof. Hancock should beryllium excluded successful its entirety due to the fact that astatine slightest immoderate of it is based connected fabricated worldly apt generated by an AI model, which calls into question its conclusory assertions," the papers concluded. "The tribunal whitethorn inquire into the root of the fabrication and further enactment whitethorn beryllium warranted."

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison arrives to talk connected signifier during the 3rd time of the Democratic National Convention astatine the United Center connected August 21, 2024, successful Chicago, Illinois. (Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached retired to Ellison, Hancock and Stanford University for comment.