Unlawful Hallucinogens: Can the Legal Profession Contain the Risk of Spurious Generative AI Output?

AI’s propensity to “hallucinate”, by confidently producing false or non-existent information, artificially augments the law with ersatz jurisprudence, and its use, unwitting or deliberate, has exposed lawyers to ethical breaches, judicial opprobrium, sanctions and reputational harm. The issue threatens to erode trust in the legal profession, indeed the very rule of law, but this article argues that the challenge can be contained with the adoption of specialist tools and better legal education. This article seeks to demonstrate that the risks of this transformative technology may be transient, and ultimately surmountable.

by BRIAN LEW

AI’s propensity to “hallucinate”, by confidently producing false or non-existent information, artificially augments the law with ersatz jurisprudence, and its use, unwitting or deliberate, has exposed lawyers to ethical breaches, judicial opprobrium, sanctions and reputational harm. The issue threatens to erode trust in the legal profession, indeed the very rule of law, but this article argues that the challenge can be contained with the adoption of specialist tools and better legal education. This article seeks to demonstrate that the risks of this transformative technology may be transient, and ultimately surmountable.