{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-17T10:19:16.267Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"expert-witness","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"2026","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":1,"coverage":{"cases":1,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":1,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2026-houston-explosion-trial-3m-expert-witness-dropped-after-chatgpt-drafted-report-exposed","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Numerous lawsuits followed, including one that came to trial in 2026.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"One of the lawsuits over the explosion came to trial in 2026.","causal_attribution":"The Mary Sue, retelling 404 Media; CBS News's September report of an award 'last month' is consistent."},{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"used ChatGPT to write significant portions of his “expert report.” ... “show how 3M is 0% at fault for the explosion at Watson Grinding.”","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"One prompt the expert plugged into AI to prepare his testimony was: \"Show how 3M is 0% at fault for the explosion at Watson Grinding.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"An engineering expert retained for 3M in a lawsuit over the 2020 Watson Grinding explosion used ChatGPT to prepare his expert report, including a prompt asking it to show how 3M was 0% at fault for the explosion.","causal_attribution":"404 Media's review of transcripts and discovery records and CBS News's reporting from deposition transcripts and the plaintiffs' lawyers; the expert acknowledged AI use (c2)."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"acknowledged using artificial intelligence to assist with drafting his report, but defended his research","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Under questioning, the expert acknowledged using AI to help draft his report but defended his research.","causal_attribution":"CBS News, from deposition transcripts."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"After the deposition, 3M attorneys removed ... from their witness list. But the plaintiffs' attorneys subpoenaed him to testify about the various prompts he entered into ChatGPT.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"After the deposition, 3M's attorneys removed the expert from their witness list, and the plaintiffs subpoenaed him to testify about his ChatGPT prompts.","causal_attribution":"CBS News."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"claimed an expert witness used ChatGPT to create more than 80% of his expert report ... the attorneys found 300 pages of prompts","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The plaintiffs claimed the expert used ChatGPT to create more than 80% of his report, and their lawyers said they found 300 pages of prompts.","causal_attribution":"The plaintiffs' lawyers, as reported by CBS News."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"He did not delegate the formation of his opinions to ChatGPT, nor did AI replace his professional judgement","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The expert's lawyer said he used AI for formatting, structuring and drafting after reviewing the materials, did not delegate the formation of his opinions to ChatGPT, and that public characterisations offer a selective distortion of the record.","causal_attribution":"The expert's lawyer, quoted by CBS News."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"After independently reviewing the facts of the case and reaching his own conclusions, he used AI as a tool to assist in preparing his report","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"3M said the expert was an independent third-party witness retained by outside counsel who used AI as a tool after independently reviewing the facts and reaching his own conclusions.","causal_attribution":"3M's statement to CBS News."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"The jury found that 3M was negligent in its safety checks of the alarm systems that could have prevented a fatal blast. Last month the court awarded the victims $61.5 million.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The jury found 3M negligent and the court awarded the victims $61.5 million; 3M said it disagrees with the verdict and intends to appeal.","causal_attribution":"CBS News. No source establishes that the expert's AI use affected the verdict; a plaintiffs' lawyer's belief that it did is his own view."}],"effects":[{"label":"removed from 3M's witness list and subpoenaed to testify about his ChatGPT prompts","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/ai-backfires-expert-witness-trial-171000342.html","kind":"news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-17 (HTTP 200) on Yahoo News, which carries the CBS News report credited to CBS; the same text was read through MSN. Published 18 September 2026.","independence_group":"cbs-news-report-september-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.404media.co/show-how-3m-is-0-at-fault-expert-witness-used-chatgpt-to-write-report-defending-company-in-deadly-explosion-lawsuit/","kind":"news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-17 (HTTP 200), live and through the Internet Archive; only the headline and opening paragraphs before the paywall were available. Published 17 August 2026.","independence_group":"404-media-records-review-august-2026"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/expert-witness-at-trial-goes-overboard-with-ai-exclusively-relied-on-chatgpt-to-form-his-opinions-and-write-his-report/ar-AA2apkQp","kind":"news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-17 through the MSN content API (HTTP 200). Published 18 August 2026 by The Mary Sue; a retelling of 404 Media's report, so the same group.","independence_group":"404-media-records-review-august-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["work","justice"],"unknowns":["The date the report was written and the trial dates; the sources say only that the case came to trial in 2026 and that the expert was hired weeks before it began.","How much of the report ChatGPT generated; the plaintiffs say more than 80% and the expert's lawyer disputes the characterisation.","Whether the court ruled on the report or the expert's testimony; no ruling is reported.","Whether the expert lost other work or income; not reported.","3M's reason for removing the expert from its witness list; CBS News reports only that the removal followed the deposition."],"geography":{"basis":"The report was prepared for, and the trial held in, a Texas lawsuit over an explosion in Houston. Where the expert lives is not used.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a concrete adverse consequence of AI use: reports from transcripts and discovery records show the expert used ChatGPT to prepare his report, and CBS News reports that 3M's attorneys removed him from their witness list after his deposition and the plaintiffs subpoenaed him over his prompts.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-17"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"404 Media and CBS News report from transcripts and discovery records that the expert used ChatGPT to prepare his report, quoting a prompt asking it to show how 3M was 0% at fault, and the expert acknowledged using AI to help draft it. ChatGPT's output reached the expert and went into the report (communicated_with); 3M's attorneys then removed him from their witness list, CBS News reports. How much of the report ChatGPT wrote is disputed between the plaintiffs and the expert's lawyer.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"3M dropped an expert witness in a Houston explosion trial after discovery showed he had used ChatGPT to draft his report, CBS News reports","summary":"In a 2026 Texas trial over 3M's role in the January 2020 Watson Grinding explosion in Houston, which killed three people, an engineering expert retained for 3M used ChatGPT to prepare his expert report, according to discovery records and transcripts reviewed by 404 Media and CBS News. One prompt asked ChatGPT to show how 3M was 0% at fault for the explosion. The plaintiffs' lawyers, who found a citation overlay document and then hundreds of pages of prompts, said ChatGPT produced more than 80% of the report. Under questioning, the expert acknowledged using AI to help draft the report but defended his research. CBS News reports that after the deposition 3M's attorneys removed him from their witness list, and the plaintiffs subpoenaed him to testify about his prompts at trial. The expert's lawyer said he did not delegate his opinions to ChatGPT and called public characterisations a selective distortion of the record; 3M said he was an independent witness who used AI as a tool after reaching his own conclusions. The jury found 3M negligent and the court awarded the victims $61.5 million; 3M said it would appeal.","incidentDate":"2026-01-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-08-17","aiSystem":"ChatGPT, used by an engineering expert retained for 3M to prepare an expert report; discovery produced hundreds of pages of his prompts","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to CBS News, the expert was removed from 3M's witness list after his ChatGPT use was exposed at deposition, then subpoenaed by the plaintiffs to testify about his prompts at trial.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the expert who used ChatGPT and was removed from 3M's witness list (CBS News). The explosion victims' harm predates and is unrelated to the AI use, so they are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-TX","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"internal_action","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/ai-backfires-expert-witness-trial-171000342.html","primarySourceLabel":"CBS News (via Yahoo News), Use of AI backfires on an expert witness in court (18 September 2026)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-17T03:12:28.606981+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-17T03:12:28.606981+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["united-states","texas","expert-witness","litigation","chatgpt"]}]}