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As with any new technology, there can be a certain amount of scepticism or hesitation about relying on it for critical tasks, such as providing legal advice to clients, writes Nick Mann.
As an artificial intelligence (AI) language model, ChatGPT and its rivals can provide useful information and suggestions on a wide range of legal topics based on its training data. However, there are several reasons why lawyers should not necessarily trust ChatGPT or similar technologies without exercising critical thinking and professional judgement:
Is it surprising that so few lawyers have expressed confidence in using ChatGPT?
It is not necessarily surprising that only a small percentage of lawyers trust ChatGPT or similar technologies. As with any new technology, there can be a certain amount of scepticism or hesitation about relying on it for critical tasks, such as providing legal advice to clients.
Further, the legal profession has traditionally been slow to adopt new technologies, in part due to concerns about accuracy, confidentiality, and ethical considerations. Lawyers are trained to exercise independent professional judgement and to carefully consider the specific circumstances of each case or issue, and there may be concerns that ChatGPT or other AI technologies may not be able to fully replicate that level of judgement.
In addition, some lawyers may not fully understand how ChatGPT or other AI technologies work or may be concerned about the potential risks associated with their use, such as inaccuracies, confidentiality breaches, or legal liability.
That being said, there are also lawyers who are enthusiastic about the potential of AI technologies to assist them in their work, such as in conducting legal research, drafting documents, or managing caseloads. As the technology continues to develop and become more widely accepted, it is likely that more lawyers will begin to trust and rely on AI technologies like ChatGPT, provided that they are used appropriately and with appropriate safeguards in place to ensure accuracy, confidentiality, and ethical considerations.
Do you use chatbots in your practice?
Polaris has used chatbots in the provision of legal services for the last five years and was the first law firm to sign on to and build a bot with Josef. Josef and ChatGPT are two different types of tools with different purposes and functions, so it’s not necessarily accurate to say that one is better than the other.
ChatGPT has a wide scope and is trained on vast amounts of data (of varying quality). Detecting and correcting errors requires significant expertise. And, at present, ChatGPT draws on information up to 2021, meaning that if a recent court decision has altered the legal landscape, advice or information from ChatGPT could be badly out of date.
The use of chatbots has augmented and enhanced the work of our lawyers at Polaris, and anyone advising that the end is coming for the legal profession ignores the irreplaceable effect of empathy and humanness on a client in need of legal services.
Nick Mann is the founder and principal at Polaris Lawyers.
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Nick Mann
