Understanding Generative AI

Created in ChatGPT – prompt used: ‘Can you create a mock newspaper image with a headline with ChatGPT: US lawyer admits using AI for case research’

Do you remember reading headlines similar to these, where lawyers and members of the public have got into trouble for using information in court obtained from Generative AI tools (GenAI)? You might think this could never happen to you – but the risks are real.

Tools like ChatGPT can be very useful in many contexts, including legal ones. Many people in the UK do not have access to legal advice and assistance: in 2024, the Legal Services Board (2024) reported 32% of the population had an unmet legal need.

The changes to the legal aid system in 2012, followed by the financial crisis and reductions in public spending, led to many legal aid solicitors and law centres closing. It is therefore not surprising that people have suggested that GenAI tools could help provide free legal advice and information (Tan, Westerman and Benyekhlef, 2023).

However, using GenAI tools for legal purposes comes with significant challenges and risks. This course will introduce you to GenAI: what it is, how it works and some of its advantages and disadvantages. It will highlight key concerns you need to be aware of, particularly when using GenAI for legal queries.

Finally, it will explore how GenAI can be used in a legal context and what you need to consider to be able to use GenAI responsibly.

This is the first of eight courses which explore using GenAI for legal advice and in legal contexts. The courses are designed for members of the public wanting to use GenAI for legal advice, volunteers and legal professionals providing legal advice, free advice organisations and law firms, and law students wanting to understand how best to use GenAI in a legal context.

An introduction to the course

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Listen to this audio clip in which Liz Hardie provides an introduction to the course.

Download this audio clip.Audio player: course_1_intro_audio.mp3

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Transcript

Liz Hardie

Since ChatGPT became widely available at the end of 2022, there’s been a lot of information, news articles and discussion about generative AI and its impact on various aspects of society and work. Tools like ChatGPT can be very useful in many contexts, including legal ones. However, there are also risks to using generative AI, particularly for legal advice and information, because of the way the tools work and have been trained.

Generative AI tools can be an easily accessible source of free legal information, and we know that many people within the UK do not have access to reliable and free legal advice and assistance. However, when using Generative AI for legal advice or information, it is important to understand its limitations and its challenges.

This one-hour course will introduce you to generative AI: what it is and how it works as a probability tool, rather than a search engine or database. It will explore some of the benefits of using generative AI, and highlight some of the examples you may have read about where Generative AI produced wrong information which was then used within court proceedings, and will explain why this happened. The course will help you to understand the why the tools provide the outputs they do, and identify some of the concerns and problems you need to be aware of. It will highlight key concerns you need to know about, both when using generative Ai generally and specifically for legal queries. Completing this course will help you to use generative AI more responsibly and effectively for legal advice and information.

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Discussion

GenAI tools can be an easily accessible source of free legal information, and we know that many people within the UK do not have access to reliable and free legal advice and assistance. However, when using GenAI for legal advice or information, it is important to understand its limitations and its challenges.

This is a self-paced course of around 60–90 minutes including a short quiz.

A digital badge and a course certificate are awarded upon completion. To receive these, you must complete all sections of the course and pass the course quiz.