A.I. in the Legal Profession
Use of AI in the Legal Profession
Artificial intelligence ("AI") is all the rage nowadays, but how does it fit into a legal practice? I, for one, have found the AI ChatGPT to be very useful in generating initial answers and pointing me in the right direction, but that regardless of the answer a lawyer needs to personally conduct any serious research because AI's responses are oftentimes incomplete or facile and may even be incorrect.
Unrelated to legal research, I tested ChatGPT by asking it how many US presidents have been Catholic. ChatGPT responded that John F. Kennedy has been the only Catholic US president. I then asked it about Joe Biden's religion, and ChatGPT responded that Biden is Catholic. When I asked about the error, ChatGPT provided the following answer:
"Yes, I can explain my error. I believe I made a mistake in my initial response due to confusion caused by the wording of the question. The question asked how many U.S. Presidents have been Catholic, to which the correct answer is two: John F. Kennedy and Joe Biden. However, in my first response, I incorrectly stated that only John F. Kennedy was Catholic, which is not accurate.
"I apologize for any confusion or misunderstanding that my initial response may have caused. As an AI language model, I strive to provide accurate and helpful information, and I appreciate the opportunity to correct my mistake."
Note that ChatGPT acknowledges its mistake but can't actually explain why it arrived at the wrong conclusion.
I guess in brief, as a practitioner I would approach AI's answers the same way that I would approach that of a good law clerk: It may be a good starting point, but it still needs to be checked and cross-checked by an experienced lawyer.
Still, I think it will be a useful tool in the future.
If you're interested in reading more, click here for an interesting article in Wired Magazine.
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This article is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. For further inquiry, please feel free to contact me at the email or telephone listed below.