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Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is a new phenomenon that has taken the world by storm in this passing year. Generative AI is a type of AI that is capable of generating different types of things, whether they are images, text documents, or other media. Generative AI is based on models that generate new data based on the characteristics of the data input provided to it. The data input for Generative AI can be a specific dataset or instructions provided to it by the user or it can be any publicly accessible information taken directly from the vast repository of the World Wide Web. These AI models are capable of continuously learning, making themselves even better. Generative AI is not bound by rules and programming like general or traditional AI programs. This is what allows them to be creative and generate new data that resembles human-generated content.
Most niche industries have been impacted by the phenomenon of generative AI and the legal industry is no exception. Legal work is intellectually very rigorous because it demands a different, nuanced approach to every case. Legal work is extremely time-consuming and requires extensive research, as well as extreme attention to detail. These characteristics and requirements of legal work have until now been a major barrier to the incorporation of technology into the legal industry. Before the existence of generative AI, the last major technology inclusion in the legal industry was the establishment of online databases and repositories of legal knowledge, when transitioning from solely pen and paper-based systems to hybrids with digital systems.
Generative AI’s ability to continuously learn, refine, and improve itself allows it to deal with the wide-ranging needs of legal work. Generative AI can be used to complete a variety of tasks such as legal research, due diligence, drafting briefs, and summarizing many extensive legal documents. Generative AI can take over the burden of completing the difficult work in the legal field and allow lawyers and advocates to focus on tasks that require an intuitive human touch such as context and understanding.
However, just because a generative AI can do something does not mean that it will necessarily be perfect in the execution of its work. Generative AI can provide intelligent and logical answers to legal problems by relying on information present on the World Wide Web but there is no guarantee that it will be correct from a legal perspective. Another issue with the use of generative AI is what would be the answer to a problem in which completely contradictory information is provided on the World Wide Web as a solution. Similarly, the issue of veracity of the source relied upon by Generative AI still has no answer because unless the source of information is wrong, Generative AI will not be able to provide the correct solution to the legal puzzle involved.
The advent of generative AI has also brought into the spotlight issues related to intellectual property and privacy. The issue of intellectual property is quite simple to understand but very difficult to solve. When two people use generative AI to solve a similar problem or question, they may get the same solution, which can be used to create intellectual work. However, it is unclear who owns the rights to intellectual property, as the use of generative AI makes it difficult to determine the original creator of a work.
The second issue of confidentiality is that the brief, strategy and research done by one lawyer or attorney should not be accessible or available to any other lawyer or attorney. Generative AI needs to ensure that the information in its database cannot be accessed by any rival lawyer or attorney. Therefore, segmentation of information will be required but this is likely to hinder the learning process of generative AI and ultimately its efficiency.
In my opinion, even generative AI cannot replace lawyers. It is ultimately tied to logic. Therefore, any solution to the legal puzzle it offers will be based on existing facts and logic as it is unable to consider subsequent discovery of additional facts and evidence. Generative AI can be an excellent tool in the hands of a good lawyer and enables a single lawyer with Generative AI to compete against a team of advocates without Generative AI. Generative AI, if developed properly, could change the way the legal industry works. This will not result in displacement of lawyers, but there could certainly be displacement of lawyers by those using AI.
This article has been written by Tarun Yadav, Assistant Professor of Law. NMIMS, Hyderabad.
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