Artificial Intelligence is not a new phenomenon, but it is rarely spoken in the same sentence as legal services or the law more generally. 

A recent article published in Reuters raises questions about how Artificial Intelligence has the potential to take aim at the legal system, seeking to make its presence felt in all spheres of modern life.

In the Reuter’s article, a University Law Dean tested the AI application ChatGP to produce briefs on why the US Supreme Court decision on same sex marriage should not be overturned, the concept of jurisdiction, and so on. The results were accurate, sensible sounding, and time efficient. The application was seen to enhance access to justice questions to people of limited means. 

The service can be likened to a University campus essay writing service. It may at first instance help one with general matters, but only an experienced professional with in-depth, and broad knowledge in a niche area of law can apply those answers. Application of law is a further step removed from knowledge of law. It is a temporary relief but not a long-term solution. For lawyers, it may result in professional discipline. For public users, this may not suffice to handle their complicated Estate matters.

While the pandemic era brought in a bureaucratic response to a global pandemic requiring modification from in person hearings to Zoom video calling, ChatGPT is a user-friendly legal advice application with much more ambitious abilities. 

The application helps narrow users search terms exceptionally better than a Google.com search can. The application has added another layer of buffer between the public and the legal profession. 

An AI robot can distill the black letter law perhaps, but perception unique to the human senses likely affords a more in-depth interpretation and profound assessment of facts and law.  

Thanks for reading 

Mashal