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Artificial intelligence is undeniably the ‘big thing’ nowadays. Every business, every school, in fact every industry is looking at AI and asking the question – how can this make my life easier? but on the flip side, how can this make my life a whole lot more complicated?
The legal industry is no different. The obvious use of AI is to automate the many long and laborious tasks that solicitors have to undertake. The problem is that large language models (‘LLMs’), like GPT, are only as good as the material they are trained on, and they are trained on documents written by human beings. Human beings make mistakes, and so it’s no surprise that LLMs can go ‘awol’ when creating documents.
The famous case of the New York lawyer who had to own up to the judge that the case references he had included in his brief were, in fact, produced by ChatGPT. The model had not only created ‘bogus judicial decisions with bogus quotes [but also] bogus internal citations’. It’s quite an extraordinary level of detail that the machine managed to create; however it was, of course, completely false.
So, is there a compromise? Are there other forms of AI that could add value to legal research without running the risk of making something up and finding yourself in contempt of court. At ICLR, we have Case Genie. Described by one solicitor as ‘a search engine on steroids’ for case law. Case Genie uses natural language processing to create a list of cases that it thinks are relevant to any document that the user has uploaded. The results are simply a list of verifiable cases, the key element is that a real-life person will have to sift through the cases, either manually or using the fine-tuning tools available to the user. Case Genie is simply a short cut, it’s not a guarantee that the cases suggested are the perfect cases, but it offers the chance to quickly search through hundreds of thousands of cases in a matter of seconds.
ICLR Online now holds over 400,000 transcripts. Case Genie is able to analyse and present these previously unknown cases. But just knowing the name of the case and the neutral citation is not going to give the user any idea of what the case is about. And this is where LLMs could lend a hand. ICLR is potentially going to use GPT to create a ‘case story’. A brief, AI generated summary of the case. These will be caveated with the advisory that these summaries should not be trusted, they should never be quoted or cited. That said, 99% of the time they will be perfectly inoffensive, giving a perfect flavour of the case without having gone down a rabbit hole leading to potential contempt of court.
We, at ICLR, feel that there are compromises to be made, there are options that can use AI as a complementary tool to research methods that already exist. As AI develops there will come a time when the reliability of summaries and research is comparable to a human being, but we aren’t there yet, and in the meantime the legal industry must look to embrace AI, but with the oversight or a real person.
To give a demonstration of how clever AI is, the below is an answer to the question ‘write a brief summary on if there is a compromise on the use of AI in the legal industry?’. This was created in less than five seconds by ChatGPT (which is useful, as it seems that I and the AI itself are on the same page):
‘A compromise on the use of AI in the legal industry can be reached by recognizing the technology as an assisting tool rather than a replacement for human expertise. By integrating ethical guidelines, ensuring transparency, providing affordable solutions, and offering proper education and training, the legal profession can leverage AI’s benefits while upholding the integrity and values of the legal system. Ultimately, a balanced approach will enable AI to enhance legal services and improve access to justice without compromising the human touch and the principles of the legal profession.’
David Cosway is the Business and Product Development Manager of the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales (ICLR).
Artificial intelligence is undeniably the ‘big thing’ nowadays. Every business, every school, in fact every industry is looking at AI and asking the question – how can this make my life easier? but on the flip side, how can this make my life a whole lot more complicated?
The legal industry is no different. The obvious use of AI is to automate the many long and laborious tasks that solicitors have to undertake. The problem is that large language models (‘LLMs’), like GPT, are only as good as the material they are trained on, and they are trained on documents written by human beings. Human beings make mistakes, and so it’s no surprise that LLMs can go ‘awol’ when creating documents.
The famous case of the New York lawyer who had to own up to the judge that the case references he had included in his brief were, in fact, produced by ChatGPT. The model had not only created ‘bogus judicial decisions with bogus quotes [but also] bogus internal citations’. It’s quite an extraordinary level of detail that the machine managed to create; however it was, of course, completely false.
So, is there a compromise? Are there other forms of AI that could add value to legal research without running the risk of making something up and finding yourself in contempt of court. At ICLR, we have Case Genie. Described by one solicitor as ‘a search engine on steroids’ for case law. Case Genie uses natural language processing to create a list of cases that it thinks are relevant to any document that the user has uploaded. The results are simply a list of verifiable cases, the key element is that a real-life person will have to sift through the cases, either manually or using the fine-tuning tools available to the user. Case Genie is simply a short cut, it’s not a guarantee that the cases suggested are the perfect cases, but it offers the chance to quickly search through hundreds of thousands of cases in a matter of seconds.
ICLR Online now holds over 400,000 transcripts. Case Genie is able to analyse and present these previously unknown cases. But just knowing the name of the case and the neutral citation is not going to give the user any idea of what the case is about. And this is where LLMs could lend a hand. ICLR is potentially going to use GPT to create a ‘case story’. A brief, AI generated summary of the case. These will be caveated with the advisory that these summaries should not be trusted, they should never be quoted or cited. That said, 99% of the time they will be perfectly inoffensive, giving a perfect flavour of the case without having gone down a rabbit hole leading to potential contempt of court.
We, at ICLR, feel that there are compromises to be made, there are options that can use AI as a complementary tool to research methods that already exist. As AI develops there will come a time when the reliability of summaries and research is comparable to a human being, but we aren’t there yet, and in the meantime the legal industry must look to embrace AI, but with the oversight or a real person.
To give a demonstration of how clever AI is, the below is an answer to the question ‘write a brief summary on if there is a compromise on the use of AI in the legal industry?’. This was created in less than five seconds by ChatGPT (which is useful, as it seems that I and the AI itself are on the same page):
‘A compromise on the use of AI in the legal industry can be reached by recognizing the technology as an assisting tool rather than a replacement for human expertise. By integrating ethical guidelines, ensuring transparency, providing affordable solutions, and offering proper education and training, the legal profession can leverage AI’s benefits while upholding the integrity and values of the legal system. Ultimately, a balanced approach will enable AI to enhance legal services and improve access to justice without compromising the human touch and the principles of the legal profession.’
Update from the Chair of the Bar
By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
Unlocking your aged debt to fund your tax in one easy step. By Philip N Bristow
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, discusses the upcoming changes to pensions and Inheritance Tax and the potential impact on your financial future
Save the Children UK is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain until 27 September Rothko in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi until 23 August Reviewed by Stephen Cragg KC
The Chief Legal Officer to the Metropolitan Police, barrister Brett Welch, tells Anthony Inglese CB about his mission and the work to turn the Met around
Barrister apprenticeships – shortly to provide the fourth pathway to the Bar – are an ideal opportunity to support local talent and ‘grow your own’, say Tim Coulson and Dr Jane Dennehy
Grok around and find out – or not? Mariya Peykova investigates the nudification scandal, what the law has to say about sexually explicit deepfakes, and whether stronger regulation is needed
Oliver Lewis spotlights an overlooked yet rapidly evolving area of law – coercive and controlling behaviour within care contexts
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