Artificial Intelligence in Legal Writing:
“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” [i]
In recent years, AI-powered technologies have made their way into the legal industry, with the promise of automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks such as legal research and writing. While the use of AI to write legal blogs can save lawyers significant amounts of time, it raises important ethical considerations. One such consideration is the accuracy and reliability of the information generated by AI. As AI algorithms are only as good as the data they are trained on, errors in the input data can result in flawed output. Therefore, lawyers must ensure that the AI they use is reliable and accurate, and that the information generated by it is thoroughly vetted and fact-checked before being published.
Another ethical issue that arises when using AI to write legal blogs is the potential for bias in the output. AI algorithms can reflect the biases of the people who created them, as well as the data they were trained on. This is particularly concerning in the legal industry, where impartiality and objectivity are crucial. Lawyers must, therefore, be aware of the potential for bias in the AI they use and take steps to mitigate it, such as using multiple AI models or supplementing AI-generated content with human-written content.
Finally, the use of AI to write legal blogs raises questions about the role of lawyers and the future of the legal profession. While AI can certainly streamline certain tasks and free up lawyers to focus on higher-level work, it is unlikely to replace the need for human lawyers altogether. Lawyers must, therefore, consider how best to incorporate AI into their practice in a way that enhances their skills and benefits their clients while upholding ethical and professional standards.
In conclusion, the use of AI to write legal blogs presents both opportunities and challenges for the legal industry. Lawyers must approach AI use ethically, ensuring that the information generated by AI is accurate and reliable, free from bias, and used in a way that complements their skills and expertise. By doing so, lawyers can harness the benefits of AI while upholding their professional standards and responsibilities.
Human author’s note: With the exception of the title, the entire preceding blog post was composed by ChatGPT by OpenAI using the prompt “write a 3 paragraph blog about the ethics of using AI to write legal blogs.”[ii] It was written in less than one minute. It is completely unedited.
[i] HAL, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick, director, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1968
[ii] ChatGPT Feb 13 Version, (March 8, 2023, 9:04 AM), https://chat.openai.com/chat