With all the recent attention on AI and the jobs that it might replace, I thought it would be interesting to ask AI itself if it is a good substitute for legal advice.
I asked Google “is AI a good substitute for legal advice”. It’s response:
AI Overview
AI is not a safe or effective substitute for professional legal advice, as it lacks legal training, cannot provide confidentiality, and may produce inaccurate or “hallucinated” information. While AI serves as a powerful tool for legal research, summarizing documents, and drafting basic text, it cannot understand complex, nuanced, or confidential legal issues.
I was relieved to see that even AI is aware of its own limitations in terms of providing legal advice. And that my job is secure; for now.
As a human with 30 years of experience in the practice of law, I would summarize the limits of AI in providing legal advice into the following three categories:
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Confidentiality
A consultation with a lawyer is governed by solicitor-client privilege which means it will remain completely confidential or private. A search using AI is not private. It will show in your search history and the tech companies will have access to it and may even use the information for its own purposes or gains.
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Accuracy
The law is not universal. It differs from one jurisdiction to another even within Canada. It is also fluid and evolving with Legislative changes and new precedent setting cases.
AI has had difficulty with providing accurate and updated legal advice.
The application of the facts of one specific case to the law requires a level of analysis, critical thinking and judgment that AI is not yet capable of performing. In litigation there are strategic, tactical, case specific issues that require real world practical experience.
There is simply too much nuance, too many variables and too many strategic or tactical considerations which go into providing legal advice for AI to navigate at its current stage of development.
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Accountability
Lawyers are governed by regulatory bodies and required to have errors and omissions insurance so if you receive bad advice from a lawyer, you have recourse. The same isn’t true with AI. There is, currently, no obvious recourse for relying on bad advice from AI.
AI can be a useful ‘tool’ to understand legal terminology, general concepts and research legal cases – but it is no substitute for legal advice from a trained, experienced lawyer.
While it can be tempting to use AI to access legal advice for free, from your phone, 24/7 there are serious risks with doing so. Most lawyers provide free initial consultations by phone or video at various times of the day; so consulting with a lawyer is not really any less convenient than asking AI for advice. I strongly encourage you to do so if you have any questions about a serious legal matter.
If you have any questions about a personal injury matter, we at Beckett are here to help and are happy to provide a free consultation to ensure you get accurate legal advice.
