Expert Witness Used ChatGPT to Draft Report Defending 3M in Explosion Lawsuit
Josh Autenrieth of Knighthawk Engineering, an expert witness hired by 3M, used ChatGPT to generate a significant portion of his expert testimony report in a lawsuit concerning a deadly explosion. Autenrieth, who was paid approximately $90,000 by 3M, admitted that '90 to 85 percent' of his report was written by AI. The lawsuit stems from a 2020 explosion in Houston that killed three people and damaged around 200 homes. While the primary defendant was Watson Grinding, the plant operator, 3M was also sued, with allegations that the company failed to properly service the gas detection system. Plaintiffs' counsel, Will Moye, discovered Autenrieth's use of AI during a deposition after finding a 'Citation Overlay' document that he recognized as being generated by ChatGPT. This discovery led to a three-hour pause in the deposition and the production of a 350-page log of AI prompts used by Autenrieth. Moye stated that Autenrieth's prompts were biased towards 3M, aiming to help the company win the case, and that man... 
