Okay, imagine you’re ready to argue your case in front of the Supreme Court, and the first thing the judge asks you is — “Are you real?”
That actually happened.
In a peak 2025 moment, a Supreme Court judge was taken aback during a video hearing when they saw a lawyer pop up on screen. Justice B.V. Nagarathna looked at the screen and asked the lawyer, dead serious — “Are you real?”
The lawyer responded with: “I can assure you, Milord, I am real.”
Why were the judges even asking this?
Because just a few hours earlier, a man in New York used an AI-generated avatar to argue a case in court.
Justice S.C. Sharma brought it up and said,
“There was news today that a person made an AI person appear before the court and argue a case… so are you the same?”
Let’s rewind the New York madness for context
Apparently, a 74-year-old guy in New York tried to sneak an AI avatar into a real court hearing.
Not a lawyer. No license.
One of the judges noticed something was off and said:
“That is not a real person.”
To which the man casually replied:
“I generated that.”
And the judge, who couldn’t believe the kind of days he had come to see, replied with,
“I don’t appreciate being misled.”
The AI-Lawyer confusion era is here
Back in India, this viral story had already reached the Supreme Court, and now, every lawyer joining a virtual hearing might have to prove they’re not a bot (captcha might not be enough).
We’re officially in the timeline where even judges have to double-check if you’re human.
So what’s the big deal?
Well, beyond the laughs, it shows just how fast AI is creeping into every profession, even the slow, tradition-heavy world of law. And while ChatGPT can probably help you write a killer argument, it’s not exactly ready to replace someone standing in front of India’s top judges… at least, not yet.
But hey, for the lawyer who got mistaken for an AI in India, how does it feel?
