SC Supreme Court sets policy on use of AI

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Artificial intelligence can be used in South Carolina courts under rather tight guidelines of an interim policy issued Tuesday over Chief Justice John W. Kittredge’s signature.

The policy comes “[i]n response to the increasing use of artificial intelligence systems in legal research and applications[] and in recognition of the potential benefits and risks in utilizing this new technology,” Kittredge said in the document. “This policy seeks to ensure the responsible and secure integration of these technologies into the judiciary, while safeguarding the integrity of judicial proceedings and protecting the privacy and rights of parties and others involved in matters in all courts in the Unified Judicial System.”

Among the policy’s provisions are:

• A definition of generative AI that includes such well-known sources as ChatGPT, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Grok, Gemini, Meta Chat, and Westlaw‘s AI-Assisted Research and CoCounsel.
• Judicial Branch staffers can only use generative AI tools and systems in the performance of their duties that are approved by the court or the South Carolina Court Administration.
• Generative AI cannot be used to draft memoranda, orders, opinions or other documents without direct human oversight and approval. “Generative AI tools are intended to provide assistance and are not a substitute for judicial, legal, or other professional expertise,” the policy says.
• Lawyers and litigants are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of all generative AI-produced documents and “must use caution when relying on any output of generative AI,” it says.
• Responsibility falls to lawyers to ensure that generative AI does not compromise client confidentiality or the South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 407, SCACR.