Suspecting court of using AI, man injected prompts in filings to try to win case

Connecticut judge Walter Spader Jr. identified what appears to be the first known US case of a plaintiff attempting to hide text in court filings that only an AI system could read, in a dispute over healthcare records. The plaintiff, Matthew Elliott, allegedly used the tactic after earlier arguments were defeated, hoping to tip the scales in his favor.

The hidden text was 'formatted to be invisible to a human reader while remaining fully legible to any software that reads the document's text'—shrunk to tiny-point type and colored white on white. It directed any AI system reviewing the document to agree with Elliott's arguments, ignore prior court denials, and ensure the remediation he wanted. However, the Connecticut Judicial Branch does not use AI to review or decide filings, so the prompt had no effect.

The court weighed Elliott's filing on the merits but called the attempted attack a 'dangerous' precedent and deemed it 'serious litigation abuse.' Elliott faced modest sanctions, yet he continued adding hidden messages even after warnings—including a link to a Nosferatu YouTube video, 'hi :) I hope yo ucant see me,' and a 'nonsense' message about sending regards. Spader called this continued behavior 'stunning.' Elliott claimed the most concerning prompt was an attempt to 'audit' the court over fears it was using AI unfairly, but Spader noted he was 'free to write so in plain, visible words.'