如何利用法律AI避免错误信息

How to avoid misinformationwith legal AI In June 2023, two attorneys were fined $5,000 for submitting a legal brief created by aconsumer-grade generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tool to a New York court. Thatbrief cited cases that did not exist, leading the presiding judge to conclude that, withoutproper review or fact-checking, the lawyers had acted in bad faith. The judge describedtheir actions as “acts of conscious avoidance and false and misleading statements to thecourt.” What those lawyers got right is that GenAI is a powerful tool that can enhance legal In this white paper,we will outline forprivate practice andin-house attorneys Since this incident, professionals have adjusted their approach to GenAI tools, resultingin substantial advancements. When GenAI has been developed specifically for the legalindustry, it can streamline legal workflows, trim time-consuming tasks, and free attorneysto focus on higher-level, more valuable, and fulfilling work. The truth remains, however, that How should legal teams viewGenAI? Before we explore how to use GenAI in your legal workflow, it’s worth considering how thistechnology should be viewed. Having the right mindset will help any legal professional Since its arrival, GenAI has consistently dazzled with its impressive ability to generatea variety of content in seconds. The wow factor for this technology is so high that it’sunderstandable to think it can do anything. But it can’t, and it’s important to recognize its •Where does the tool get its information?Free, consumer-grade GenAI tools draw theirinformation from the entirety of the internet, which includes plenty of fiction as well asfact. This is part of the reason why popular, consumer-facing GenAI tools can generatefalse information. In contrast, professional-grade GenAI tools are tailored for the legalindustry, crafted by experts who understand the field, and rely solely on a smaller, yethigher-quality, dataset when creating answers. Because such GenAI tools have stricter •What is the request?There are many contexts in which use of GenAI is low-stakes. Ifyou prompt a free GenAI tool to generate fun text for an invitation to a child’s birthdayparty, no harm is done if the output is off the mark. But in a legal context, the stakes are GenAI toolsdeveloped specificallyfor legal professionalspresents significantly •How much review is needed?It’s easy to assume a GenAI output is client-readythe second it’s produced. It is not. Think of it this way — even a bright, early-careerassociate must have their work reviewed before presenting it to a client. GenAI is nodifferent. Even the output of a GenAI tool developed specifically for the legal industryneeds careful reviewfrom a trained and experienced legal professional. As high-quality What are the potential risks ofusing GenAI? As we alluded to above, using GenAI tools carries some risk. GenAI tools developedspecifically for legal professionals presents significantly less risk than free consumer-gradetools, but no GenAI tool is completely risk-free. Here are three common risks of using •Prompting errors:GenAI tools cannot know what a user meant to ask. They interpretquestions or commands based on their straightforward, literal meaning. Sometimes,users enter a vague or non-specific prompt, unaware this can lead to output thatdoesn’t precisely meet their expectations. A more targeted input can enhance thealignment with the desired result. When using GenAI tools, legal professionals should •Bias:It’s sometimes referred to as “the helpfulness bias.” GenAI prioritizes respondingto the question posed, even when the available information is insufficient or inaccurate.Because GenAI has this tendency, its answer can be incomplete or non-specific — and, •Hallucination:While GenAI’s accuracy has improved, there’s still a risk that it willgenerate fabricated responses. Researchers differ in their perspective on this, but somebelieve that GenAI will always have the potential to hallucinate. Legal professionals who How can GenAI be used While GenAI toolsdeveloped for thelegal industry offerenhanced securitycompared to a Having developed a comprehensive perspective of GenAI and its inherent risks, it’s time to •Prompt thoughtfully:Prompting, or entering a command to instruct your GenAI tool,is an often-overlooked aspect of maximizing the tool’s effectiveness. After years ofusing search engines, it’s common practice to enter incomplete or general information.GenAI tools can work with limited information, but their output in such a case will •View the output as a first draft:It’s rare for a writer to tell you that their first draftwas spot on. Many pieces of writing move through stages on their way to completion.Working with GenAI is similar. Even if the initial output appears to be accurate, do notthink of it as a ready-made solution. You are the legal expert, not your GenAI tool; your •Recognize GenAI’s limits:Even the most formidable GenAI tool is n