John Roberts, Jr., the United States chief justice, used a report on the federal judiciary to comment on the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal profession. Roberts noted, “Proponents of AI tout its potential to increase access to justice, particularly for litigants with limited resources.”. The Chief Justice agreed that “[m]any AI applications indisputably assist the judicial system” in helping courts to resolve disputes.
Roberts also predicted that “human judges will be around for a while.” Similarly, while online chatbots may seem like a convenient alternative to hiring an attorney, the team at Structure Law Group encourages you to carefully evaluate your overall legal needs before relying solely technology.
What AI Is–and Is Not
The term artificial intelligence is credited to computer scientist John McCarthy, who reportedly coined the phrase at a 1956 conference. AI started out as an attempt by McCarthy and others to develop a new computer programming language. And almost from the beginning, there has been enormous hype surrounding the potential of AI.
Even today, most of what is called AI is an advanced form of automation rather than a computer capable of mimicking human intelligence. Products like ChatGPT are based on large language models (LLMs) designed to analyze large amounts of text or other data (such as images) and then attempt to predict and generate language in response to a specific prompt.
No matter how frequently an LLM is updated, an LLM cannot make or apply human judgment. For example, an attorney may use an LLM to try and predict the outcome of a lawsuit based on an analysis of similar prior decisions. But that is no guarantee of how the court–run by a human judge–will rule. More to the point, if you have an unusual or “edge” case, sufficient data is unlikely to be incorporated into the LLM to generate a reliable prediction. And in the worst-case scenario, as Chief Justice Roberts alluded to in his report, the LLM may return false or inaccurate information that an attorney or litigant may rely upon, which in turn will only undermine their case.
That said, LLMs have and will continue to, assist Texas business attorneys in automating mundane tasks that are necessary to the legal process but do not require the constant attention of a human. For instance, AI tools can expedite due diligence in connection with a merger or acquisition or help identify documents in response to a discovery request. When used and supervised correctly, these tools can result in better results and lower costs for both the attorney and the client.
Need to Talk to a Human? Contact Structure Law Group Today
AI tools based on LLMs might be enough to answer a simple question or automate a specific task. But legal matters are rarely simple or straightforward enough to be solved through an AI prompt. So if you need to talk to a human, call the attorneys at Structure Law Group today at (512) 881-7500 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.