Colombian Court Rejects Appeal for AI Writing, Then Gets Flagged By Its Own AI Detector
The Supreme Court of Colombia dismissed a cassation appeal after AI detection tools determined it was mostly written by artificial intelligence. However, when the same detection tool was applied to the court’s own ruling, it also flagged it as AI-generated, exposing the unreliability of such tools. Colombian lawyers and legal experts widely criticized this approach, demonstrating that these detectors routinely misclassify formal or academic texts—including pre-AI-era documents and undergraduate theses—as AI-generated. Technical analysis and various studies have shown AI detectors produce high false positive rates, especially for legal, academic, or non-native English writing, leading to unfair penalization. Despite new judicial guidelines in Colombia that prohibit using AI for interpreting law or evaluating evidence, the court relied on faulty detection tools to dismiss the filing, raising concerns about due process and the toolmaker’s commercial incentives. The incident highlights broader issues in education and creative fields, with individuals altering their writing and artwork to avoid false AI accusations. The Supreme Court has not explained its use of unreliable detection technology amid growing backlash and questions of fairness.
