Research, edits and Thurgood Marshall’s voice: How…
Syracuse officials navigate ethical concerns after a local board chair used artificial intelligence to generate legal documents in the style of Thurgood…
- Incident date
- Apr 2024
- Target
- Thurgood Marshall
On April 30, 2024, Syracuse lawmakers and Mayor Sharon Owens received an email from Don Johnson, the chairman of the Citizen Review Board, containing a legal brief and an audio analysis that were not produced by city lawyers. The documents challenged official legal opinions regarding police accountability and included a note stating the brief was written in the voice and method of the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. The incident highlighted growing tensions surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in local government communications and the potential impact on public trust.
What happened
Don Johnson utilized artificial intelligence to draft a legal brief and compile an audio analysis intended to refute the city’s legal counsel regarding the standing of Syracuse’s independent police misconduct review board. The brief included italicized text at the bottom of a page explicitly referencing that it was created in the voice and method of Thurgood Marshall. When questioned by a reporter, Johnson confirmed he used AI to generate the materials and stated he did not believe he was required to disclose this to the recipients. He claimed the technology allowed for a level of document analysis that a human could not perform alone.
The distribution of these AI-generated materials prompted scrutiny from city officials, who are currently debating the appropriate role of synthetic media in municipal operations. While some city departments are exploring AI for administrative efficiency, such as speeding up permitting processes, others express skepticism. Mayor Sharon Owens emphasized the need for transparency and ethical alignment, while Common Council President Rita Paniagua stated that elected officials must avoid abdicating their responsibilities to automated tools. The city is currently working to develop literacy guidance and data governance policies to address the challenges of integrating AI, emphasizing the need for a human to remain in the loop for authoritative decision-making.