The admission came in response to an inquiry by U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, who sought explanations after lawyers flagged inaccuracies in the rulings.

In letters released on Thursday, Judge Henry Wingate of Mississippi and Judge Julien Xavier Neals of New Jersey said their staff had used AI tools — including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Perplexity — without proper authorization or disclosure.

Judge Neals said a law school intern used ChatGPT for research in a securities case, leading to a decision being “released in error” before it was withdrawn. He has since introduced a written AI policy and stricter review procedures.

Judge Wingate revealed that a clerk used Perplexity to “synthesize publicly available information” for a civil rights ruling, which was later replaced after “a lapse in human oversight.”

Grassley commended the judges for their transparency but called for stronger judicial safeguards on AI use.

“Each federal judge, and the judiciary as an institution, has an obligation to ensure the use of generative AI does not violate litigants’ rights or prevent fair treatment under the law,” he said.

AI misuse in courtrooms has been an increasing concern, with several lawyers across the U.S. fined or sanctioned for submitting briefs containing fabricated or inaccurate information generated by AI tools.

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The breach, which went undetected for at least 12 months, targeted F5’s internal systems, according to the report. The company confirmed that a threat actor had gained unauthorized access but said the incident had no operational impact.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) earlier warned that federal networks were being targeted by an unidentified “nation-state cyber threat actor” exploiting vulnerabilities in F5 products.

Neither F5, CISA, nor the Chinese embassy in Washington immediately responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Bloomberg reported that F5 CEO François Locoh-Donou is personally briefing customers on the breach timeline and the involvement of China-linked hackers.

F5, listed on Nasdaq under the ticker FFIV.O, provides software and hardware solutions that secure applications and networks — making the breach particularly sensitive given the company’s role in protecting critical infrastructure and corporate systems.

The intrusion underscores growing U.S. concerns about state-sponsored cyber espionage, particularly from China, which Washington has repeatedly accused of conducting long-term infiltration campaigns against American government and corporate targets.

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TECHDIGEST – U.S. auto safety regulators have launched another investigation of Tesla, this time tied to complaints that its cars can stop on roads for no apparent reason.

The government says it has 354 complaints from owners during the past nine months about “phantom braking” in Tesla Models 3 and Y. The probe covers an estimated 416,000 vehicles from the 2021 and 2022 model years.

No crashes or injuries were reported.

The vehicles are equipped with partially automated driver-assist features such as adaptive cruise control and “Autopilot,” which allows them to automatically brake and steer within their lanes.

Documents posted Thursday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say the vehicles can unexpectedly brake at highway speeds.

“Complainants report that the rapid deceleration can occur without warning, and often repeatedly during a single drive cycle,” the agency says.

Many owners in the complaints say they feared a rear-end crash on a freeway.

The probe is another in a string of enforcement efforts by the agency that include Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” software. Despite their names, neither feature can drive the vehicles without people supervising.

It’s the fourth formal investigation of Texas automaker in the past three years, and NHTSA is supervising 15 Tesla recalls since January of 2021. In addition, the agency has sent investigators to at least 33 crashes involving Teslas using driver-assist systems since 2016 in which 11 people were killed.

In one of the complaints, a Tesla owner from Austin, Texas, reported that a Model Y on Autopilot brakes repeatedly for no reason on two-lane roads and freeways.

“The phantom braking varies from a minor throttle response to decrease speed to full emergency braking that drastically reduces the speed at a rapid pace, resulting in unsafe driving conditions for occupants of my vehicle as well as those who might be following behind me,” the owner wrote in a complaint filed Feb. 2. People who file complaints are not identified in NHTSA’s public database.

The Washington Post reported about a surge in phantom braking complaints from Tesla owners on Feb. 2.

Other recent recalls by Tesla were for “Full Self-Driving” equipped vehicles that were programmed to run stop signs at slow speeds, heating systems that don’t clear windshields quickly enough, seat belt chimes that don’t sound to warn drivers who aren’t buckled up, and to fix a feature that allows movies to play on touch screens while cars are being driven. Those issues were to be fixed with online software updates.

In August, NHTSA announced a probe of Teslas on Autopilot failing to stop for emergency vehicles parked on roadways. That investigation covers a dozen crashes that killed one person and injured 17 others.

Thursday’s investigation comes after Tesla recalled nearly 12,000 vehicles back in October for a similar phantom braking problem. The company sent out an online software update to fix a glitch with its more sophisticated “Full Self-Driving” software.

Tesla did a software update in late September that was intended to improve detection of emergency vehicle lights in low-light conditions.

Selected Tesla drivers have been beta testing the “Full Self-Driving” software on public roads. NHTSA also has asked the company for information about the testing, including a Tesla requirement that testers not disclose information.

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TECH DIGEST – The U.S. on Thursday appealed to the Federal Government to reverse its decision on suspension of Twitter operations in the country.

The U.S. Department of State in a statement by spokesman, Ned Price said Nigeria should respect the right to free speech.

The Federal Government had on Friday suspended the operations of Twitter indefinitely due to its use for activities that were capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.

The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, announced the suspension of the micro-blogging social network, days after Twitter deleted a post by President Muhammadu Buhari for allegedly violating its policy.

The U. S., however, advised the Federal Government to end the ongoing suspension of Twitter and subsequent threats to arrest and prosecute Nigerians who use it.

“The United States is likewise concerned that the Nigerian National Broadcasting Commission ordered all television and radio broadcasters to cease using Twitter.

“Unduly restricting the ability of Nigerians to report, gather and disseminate opinions and information has no place in a democracy.

“Freedom of expression and access to information both online and offline are foundational to prosperous and secure democratic societies.

“We support Nigeria as it works towards unity, peace, and prosperity,’’ the statement stated.

The U.S, therefore, called on the government to respect its citizens’ right to freedom of expression by reversing this suspension. (NAN)

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