Do you value your attorney client privilege? Would it bother you if someone could listen in on you speaking to your attorney — or doctor — transmitting the conversation via loudspeakers? Some or most of you likely use ChatGPT or chatbots for legal input.
You aren’t alone. The latter are increasingly being used by consumers for legal advice. Some research shows that those using these AI powered resources for legal advice have increased. But the more you use these devices to disclose otherwise privileged information, the more risk you could be facing in protecting it — as some compare such use to a public disclosure under certain circumstances.
For example, a recent decision by a federal judge in Manhattan says a defendant waived the attorney client privilege when he disclosed otherwise privileged information to a chatbot. In that case, a criminal defendant used Claude’s Anthropic to organize privileged materials for meetings with his defense lawyers. According to Judge Rakoff, the chatbot is akin to a third-party that you disclose information to, not like using a tool like Word.
Whether the decision stands is one thing — but the holding should give you pause when using these programs to divulge information you wish to be private.
