# Contractual Deepfakes: Can Large Language Models Generate Contracts?

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.09384 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.09384/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 6 of its 16 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 10 Feb 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.11401/) (2020)
- [Hallucination-Free? Assessing the Reliability of Leading AI Legal Research Tools](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.20362/) (2024)
- [LLM In-Context Recall is Prompt Dependent](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.08865/) (2024)
- [From Data to Commonsense Reasoning: The Use of Large Language Models for Explainable AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.03778/) (2024)
- [Do LLMs Truly Understand When a Precedent Is Overruled?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.20941/) (2025)
- [LLMs Can Get "Brain Rot": A Pilot Study on Twitter/X](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.13928/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Notwithstanding their unprecedented ability to generate text, LLMs do not understand the meaning of words, have no sense of context and cannot reason. Their output constitutes an approximation of statistically dominant word patterns. And yet, the drafting of contracts is often presented as a typical legal task that could be facilitated by this technology. This paper seeks to put an end to such unreasonable ideas. Predicting words differs from using language in the circumstances of specific transactions and reconstituting common contractual phrases differs from reasoning about the law. LLMs seem to be able to generate generic and superficially plausible contractual documents. In the cold light of day, such documents may turn out to be useless assemblages of inconsistent provisions or contracts that are enforceable but unsuitable for a given transaction. This paper casts a shadow on the simplistic assumption that LLMs threaten the continued viability of the legal industry.