How can lawyers prove evidence is authentic amid the rise of deepfakes created or enhanced by artificial intelligence? That was the focus of an afternoon session at the ABA Techshow on Thursday.
“In the past, it was pretty simple,” said Stephen Embry, a former defense lawyer and the publisher of the TechLaw Crossroads blog. “We had to show the thing is what it purports to be, and oftentimes that was accepted. But that’s no longer going to be the case.”
Embry, who was joined by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez of the Western District of Texas for the panel titled, “Deepfakes in Court: When Seeing isn’t Believing,” also noted this could create real issues for judges in the future.
Evidence was traditionally created by humans, but now courts will grapple with evidence generated by artificial intelligence, which uses algorithms to synthesize and produce new content, Rodriguez said. He and Embry highlighted certain practice areas, including family law, where the introduction of AI-generated evidence could cause real harm.
“You have a domestic assault case, and the husband comes in with an audiotape of him being threatened or vice versa, and what’s the judge’s reaction?” said Embry, who is also a member of the 2026 Techshow board. “That it’s probably valid.”
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Plaintiffs or managers could also introduce deepfake statements supposedly made by the other side in employment law cases, Rodriguez added....
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