BY JIREPHINE GYAPOMAA APPIAH.
- Introduction
The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has sparked controversial debates about its impact in various sectors, especially the legal field. This essay seeks to explore the question of whether AI can save law students and lawyers by utilizing AI technology for law study and practice and delve into the impact, and potential future developments related to this topic.
John McCarthy coined the term Artificial Intelligence (AI). He defined it as a science and engineering of making intelligent machines and the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings.[1] The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) survey on artificial intelligence needs in Africa defines AI as the combination of technologies that enable machines capable of imitating certain functionalities of human intelligence, including such features as perception, learning, reasoning, problem solving, language interaction, and even producing creative work.[2]
The integration of AI in the legal domain has its roots in the early 1970s, when researchers began exploring the potential of expert systems to assist legal professionals. Pioneers such as Edward Feigenbaum and Carole Hafner laid the groundwork for the application of AI in legal decision-making and document analysis. Over the decades, the field has evolved, with the emergence of machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, and predictive analytics, all of which have transformed the way legal professionals approach their work. (history)[3]
Currently, there is a continuous introduction of AI technology into the legal space. Organizations such as JPMorgan in June 2016 have tapped AI by developing a program, named COIN (short for Contract Intelligence), extracts 150 attributes from 12,000 commercial credit agreements and contracts in only a few seconds. Ravel law, another ai tool is said to be able to identify outcomes based on relevant case law, judge rulings and referenced language from more than 400 courts. The product’s feature contains cases, citations, circuits and decisions of a specific judge that is said to aid lawyers in understanding how judge is likely to rule on a case. LegalRobot is an AI-driven platform that helps users understand and draft legal documents, such as contracts, with ease. DoNotPay is AI-powered chatbot that simplifies the process of handling various legal issues, including consumer rights, parking tickets, and small claims disputes.
- Impact of AI
In discussing the effect of the utilization of AI technology for law study and practice, it is of paramount essence to consider both the positive and negative aspects of AI integration in the legal profession. On one hand, AI can improve the efficiency, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness of legal services. It can also increase access to justice by providing affordable and accessible legal assistance to the general populace.
In law schools, AI technology is reshaping how students learn as a result of the access to enhanced legal research platforms that help review through vast databases of case law, statutes, and legal literature to identify relevant precedents with speed. By automating such research tasks, students can focus more time on learning the gathered information and less on tedious manual data gathering.
The positive impact of AI in the legal field has been its ability to automate various tasks and processes that would have required extensive manual effort. AI use in legal practice is often in the areas of legal research, document automation, predictive legal analysis, legal review, case management, legal advice automation, information tool and electronic billing.
AI tools can draft contracts, and other legal documents quickly and accurately, reducing the time spent on such tasks. AI platforms can analyse documents for mistakes and omissions that may go unnoticed in manual reviews, helping minimize human error. AI can analyse case data to provide predictive insights into likely outcomes based on similar past cases. This can inform case strategy and risk assessment, allowing lawyers to make more informed decisions.
Additionally, easy accessibility of AI technology means the average citizen having a legal inquiry can input their questions into an AI for feedback, especially since it is more cost efficient compared to the actual fees charged by lawyers. This increases access to legal information which ordinarily would not have been available to the average citizen.
On the negative side, the integration of AI in the legal field is not without its drawbacks. there are concerns about the potential impact of AI on job displacement, data privacy, bias, and ethical considerations in the legal field especially as a result of relying on algorithms to make critical legal decisions. Additionally, AI technology is not exempt from blatant errors or misinformation.
The use of AI instils a false sense of confidence in its responses some of which are wrong. Most often, as a result of the assumption that the information and material provided by AI is accurate, students and lawyers alike can make errors relying on these wrongs answers if quality checks are not made to the information retrieved from the AI. Concerns have been raised that the source of the data powering the AI is unknown. Most AI technology do not provide citations to the answers it provides, although you can ask it to do so but with a limited degree of success. This can result in plagiarism for students who rely on AI for data gathering in preparing any academic material for assessment.
AI based systems used in decision making may contain potential bias and discrimination in AI decision-making. AI systems learn from vast amounts of data, which may contain inherent biases present within society. Which result in discriminatory outcomes that disproportionately affect marginalized groups. AI based technology test carried out in USA have seen results where AI systems have disproportionately labelled Black defendants as high-risk.[1]
- Current state of AI in legal practice and law study in Ghana.
In Ghana currently, the use of AI tools for legal practice and by law students to study is limited. Some big law firms in Ghana make use of law firm management software systems that help with the management of case files, managing client details, billing and other accounting functions. The use of such AI tools and software is however limited as most law firms still use manual systems to perform their functions.
Ghana lacks an established legal or regulatory framework governing the general use of AI in Ghana and there are no court decisions on the provision of legal services using AI. However, there are some regulations that cover certain aspects of the scope of AI.
AI technology largely operates on the vast amount of data. In Ghana, there is an established constitutional right to the protection of a person’s privacy. A person’s data cannot therefore be taken and used for any purpose without that person’s consent. In this regard, the Ghanaian courts are inclined to protect a person’s privacy and punish the use of data without express consent. [2]
The legal profession in Ghana is regulated by the Legal Profession Act 1960 (Act 32) and the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules 2020[3]. Act 32 passed in 1960, contains no provisions on the use of AI, however it contains provisions that establish the lawyer’s duty of confidentiality to the client. Therefore despite, the absence of express provisions on the use of AI systems in the legislation governing the legal profession, practitioners ought to be guided by the duty of confidentiality in the use of clients’ data in AI systems.
In conclusion, the question of whether AI can save us by utilizing AI technology for law study and practice is multifaceted. AI has the potential to bring significant benefits to the legal profession, but careful consideration must be given to the potential risks and unintended consequences of AI integration in the legal profession. AI should be viewed not as a replacement for human lawyers, but as a powerful tool that complements legal expertise. As law schools and firms adapt to this evolving landscape, AI may elevate the practice of law and help lawyers and students gain a competitive edge.