Written by Kim V. Naparan/THE RED CHRONICLES
Layout by Lynden Alyanna M. Valenzuela/THE RED CHRONICLES
The world is ever-changing. In today’s digital age, the relationship between the world and artificial intelligence (AI) is complex and forever evolving. Yet, it may feel like AI is just a recent development in science and technology. AI actually began in the early 1900s. By now, you have probably heard about AI and AI generative tools such as ChatGPT. Before we dig deeper, we as law students must first know what AI is and how we can maximize and harness its features to our advantage.
After all, the emergence of AI potentially set to significantly transform the landscape of education.AI, without a doubt, is revolutionizing the way we learn; and thus, making our learning and law school journey easier, more efficient, and fun. Yes, learning the law can still be fun even if it hurts most of the time.
Like drinking, use AI responsibly
AI is the intelligence of machines. It is a technology that uses data-driven algorithms to imitate our human intelligence, and problem-solving and decision-making skills. AI is widely used in different industries, in the government, and even in schools.
Last November 11th of 2023, the 30th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting was held in San Francisco, California. During the meeting, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that the Philippines is “ready to embrace AI,” and become partners with technology companies and venture capitalists with the end of navigating towards a new technological revolution.
In the realm of education, AI is being utilized by teachers, instructors, or professors for different purposes, namely but not limited to the following: to create engaging learning materials or content; to monitor and evaluate their students’ progress; and to cater to the various learning needs of the students. In short, AI helps bridge the gap between learners and educators.
The first question that may come to our mind is, “Is using AI a form of cheating?” Answer: It depends.
If the use of AI is not prohibited or restricted by the professor, then we can use it with glee. AI is a powerful tool that can help us find sources or jurisprudence, summarize cases, proofread assignments, and explain legal concepts. Having a mental block? AI can even brainstorm for us!
Take ChatGPT for example. ChatGPT is a language model-based chatbot that was developed by OpenAI, an American AI research organization. Curious how it works? Simply, go to chat.openai.com and log in or sign up. Do not worry, it is free. Once we are in, type a question or prompt in the message box and hit the Enter key. Voilà, ChatGPT provides us with various answers. If we are not satisfied, we can regenerate a new response by entering a new or different prompt. Repeat said steps until we have finally reached our goal.
Worth noting too, AI can also be our online tutor or study buddy. We have friends but sometimes, an added virtual bot can also make our lives more interesting. AI generative tools can be used interactively.
Let us use Bard as another example. Bard is an AI chatbot developed by Google as a direct response to the rise of ChatGPT. We go to bard.google.com/chat. Then, the following steps are the same as in ChatGPT. Here, we can ask Bard to test our skills or understanding of a legal doctrine. We may also ask it to make hypothetical questions for us to test our knowledge. Moreover, we can also ask it to give us scenarios of how laws are applied in different jurisdictions. In short, things are endless with AI.
Now, here is the tricky part. AI is designed to generate text and produce content that it has accumulated across the internet. However, this is a double-edged sword. AI can give incorrect and worse, refer us to non-existent resources. This is why it is very critical to always double-check (or if you are hardcore like me, triple-check too) the content or answers given by any AI generative tool.
In June this year, two New York-based lawyers were fined after they were found to have used an AI to draft a brief, citing cases that did not exist. In the US, some federal judges have been warning American lawyers to be wary when using AI and to disclose such acts before the court to protect their clients and the public as well. They also remind lawyers to be extra careful and to scrutinize anything that ChatGPT and any AI similar tools.
Lesson: Do. Not. Believe. Everything. That. AI. Tells. You
As future lawyers, we must be critical and assess every content that any AI tool feeds us. We have to always keep an eye out for any biases, misleading, inaccurate, false, and wrong data or information that AI feeds us. Excessive and irresponsible use of AI is damaging not only our learning progress, overall welfare, and future career prospects but it likewise undermines the equity of law education and the integrity of law schools.
AI is a supplement, just like our favorite iced coffee
AI offers us valuable resources for enhancing our learning experiences. But we should be wary that AI must be used only to aid or assist us, not as a substitute for actual reading and studying. Nothing beats real and actual hard work.
In reality, we as students play a vital role in shaping the future of AI in education and, most especially, in society. It may be considered that it is still in its nascency, but AI’s capabilities are almost endless. We can explore, experiment, and continue to uncover its implications and potential. However, this is not a blanket authority that permits us to either misuse or abuse AI and rely on it. Think of it like a drug. The more we use a certain pill, we may become addicted to it and eventually, we depend on it. Worse, without it, we cannot function like a normal human being.
AI’s ubiquitous presence beyond the four corners of a classroom requires us to be keen on the challenges and risks of AI technology in legal education and profession. While AI can revolutionize legal education, there are still many challenges and concerns that need to be addressed. Amidst these threats or problems, the advantages of using AI tools are far more important and greater.
As we discover and understand how AI works, as law students, we can effectively use it to our advantage and eventually give us the necessary tools in our careers. As one writer puts it, “The law is heading toward AI, or maybe AI is heading toward the law.”
In summary, there is no harm in utilizing AI technology to aid our law studies when used responsibly and ethically. AI is here to stay. No point in being in denial and adamant about its prowess. It is time for us to finally embrace it like a soft pillow.
Cheers to the future of legal education! ●