LJMU Legal Advice Centre warns on AI
LJMU’s free legal advice service is warning the public to not fall into AI traps when seeking legal answers.
The Legal Advice Centre, on Hardman Street in Liverpool city centre, says it is increasingly common for people to use free platforms, such as ChatGPT, to explore legal avenues to a problem they are experiencing. However, this can be risky.
“We’re trying to encourage people to check out their situation with a human, even when they get an answer from AI that sounds sensible,” said Rachel Stalker, Subject Leader of the LAC and a solicitor in LJMU’s School of Law & Justice Studies.
LJMU has run a pro-bono service to the public for the past decade advising on family, small claims, wills, exceptional case funding and business claims. While AI certainly has the potential to provide information and increase understanding of legal concepts, the role of pro bono advice services supervised by legal professionals is becoming more important than ever.
Responsible use of AI with human oversight is really important
Dr Alison Lui, LJMU School of Law
Dr Alison Lui, Associate Professor of Corporate and Financial Law, says it is “a real concern” for the courts and tribunals with claims getting longer and more convoluted.
“Human drafted claims are more factual whilst AI generated ones are much more elaborated. This is why the legal profession are calling for more attention in identifying the core grievances. Employment Law in particular can be complex and many people need expert advice,” she says.
Using AI answers can easily mean a claim is wrongly pleaded, or “hallucinated” case authorities can be drafted into materials placed before the court. Either of these things will usually lead to a negative outcome. This academic year the LAC has started using an AI-powered research platform in preparing its advices, but this is a confidentially-ringfenced, industry-standard specialist platform used only under legal supervision.
Dr Lui agrees: “Responsible use of AI with human oversight and accountability is really important,” she says.
To make an appointment with the LAC, contacts us by email on lac@ljmu.ac.uk or leave a message on 07968422574.
