Solicitors Regulation Authority v. Abhishek Kumar: AI and Associated Risks

Sep 14

2 min read

Updated: Sep 15

In Britain, the intersection of technology, law, and intellectual property has seen major, high-impact developments, spanning legal accountability and AI malpractice.

1. The UK's First AI Legal Disciplinary Fallout

The biggest legal shockwave hitting the UK tech-and-law sector involves a landmark ruling by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).[1]

The Case: The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) brought the case against Abhishek Kumar, who was officially struck off the register after defending himself using entirely fabricated, AI-generated case law and false citations.
The significance: The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) noted that while solicitors may use productivity tools, they bear strict personal responsibility for verifying outputs and cannot pass off hallucinated AI text to courts or regulators.

2. Parliament and the "Superintelligence" Pushback

As opposed to the massive class-action copyright jury trials in the US, UK lawmakers use a different approach to address structural gaps in AI policy:[2]

Private Member's Bill on Superintelligence: A new legislative push in the House of Commons aims to officially restrict and monitor the development of advanced artificial intelligence systems that could pose severe security risks to the UK.[3]
Open Letters to Downing Street: High-profile British politicians (such as Labour MP Darren Jones) have increased pressure on government leadership, demanding international intervention on AI safety as frustration grows over delays in comprehensive, dedicated AI statutory bills.[4]

3. The Post-Consultation Copyright Reality

The backdrop to all UK tech-IP discussions remains the government's definitive stance on Text and Data Mining (TDM):

No Blanket Exceptions: The UK government formally rejected a broad copyright exception that would have let AI developers scrape creative and literary works for training without explicit consent.[5]
The "Wait-and-See" Approach: Rather than crafting new legislation to solve AI copyright, the UK is pushing private-market solutions, such as the upcoming Creative Content Exchange, a proposed trusted online marketplace meant to facilitate legal licensing between rights holders and AI developers.