The now-famous line, “With great power comes great responsibility,” has gained new relevance in the sphere of legal technology. The increasing influence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on the legal world has highlighted the need for certain guardrails to be in place to ensure safe and ethical usage. The discussion around the responsible use of AI has intensified in recent months, following a widely-reported incident of a fake, ChatGPT-generated legal brief being submitted in a federal court, resulting in a significant fine for the attorney involved.
In response to these growing concerns, law.MIT.edu has assembled a Task Force to develop principles and guidelines for the responsible use of Generative AI in legal processes and the assurance of factual accuracy, valid legal reasoning, professional ethics, and due diligence.
The Task Force has released an early draft of seven draft principles that outline a legal professional’s responsibilities when employing AI in their practice. These principles encompass duties of confidentiality, fiduciary care, client notice and consent, competence, fiduciary loyalty, regulatory compliance, and accountability and supervision.
The Task Force is also actively soliciting feedback through their feedback form, in an effort to finalize their guidelines in a collaborative and industry-inclusive manner. Various thought leaders from the legal industry have already made contributions, and the Task Force intends to expand by forming a Joint Task Force with CodeX, The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics.
On August 16, 2023, the Task Force is hosting an open forum to further engage with the industry on these principles and to encourage an open discussion on generative AI and its responsible use.
It is clear that the establishment of guidelines and principles around AI usage in legal practice is an area of increasing importance, and industry leaders are stepping up to help navigate and shape this path.