Short Circuit

Short Circuit 313 | Memo From a Robot

Mar 1, 2024

Exploring the use of AI in legal research, focusing on finding the right models for the right tasks, potential for lawyers to use AI in writing memos and briefs, concerns about government overreaction to AI use, copyright issues with AI, and the importance of being cautious about AI advancements.

53:34

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Episode guests

Paul Sherman

Ed Walters

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

AI tools like generative AI provide versatile capabilities but may offer suggestions over facts, leading to potential inaccuracies in legal research.

Proposed rules around AI usage in legal documents raise concerns about transparency and accuracy, highlighting the need for ethical considerations and verification processes.

Deep dives

AI and Legal Research: Distinction between Generative AI and Retrieval Augmented Generation

AI tools like generative AI, such as GPT-4 and Gemini, offer versatile capabilities, completing sentences based on statistical likelihood. While impressive, their major drawback is their design to suggest likely answers rather than fact-based ones. This distinction has created challenges, as evident in a case where a lawyer cited non-existent cases due to this feature. On the other hand, retrieval augmented generation tools like Vincent by VLEX utilize primary sources to answer queries accurately, addressing the shortcomings of generative AI. These tools have revolutionized legal research, offering specific and verifiable information efficiently.

Introduction

2min

AI in Legal Research and Expertise in Robot Law

2min

Exploring AI's Impact on Legal Research

14min

Revolutionizing Legal Research with Modern Technology

3min

AI in Legal Research: Rules, Ethics, and Evolution

24min

Unintended Consequences of AI Over-Reliance

8min

A special episode on artificial intelligence and the law, including how we find the law. Ed Walters, a pioneer in bringing AI to legal research, joins us to separate the artificial wheat from the chaff. He explains that a lot of the recent news about the failures of AI models have been due to using the wrong models for the wrong things, not the models themselves. He walks us through a near future when lawyers can use AI to not just find points of law but write memos or briefs. We’re also joined by IJ’s Paul Sherman, our resident AI aficionado, who recently wrote a letter to the Fifth Circuit about a proposed rule it has regarding AI use and brief writing. There’s a lot of promise out there but also a lot of danger in the government—including courts—overreacting. We also talk a bit about copyright issues and AI and what’s on the horizon. Are we approaching the Singularity? Ed thinks likely not, but there’s still worries we should be aware of.

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Vlex

Short Circuit episode on robot law (2021)

Paul’s letter to the Fifth Circuit on AI use