Lawyers Should Not Trust AI: A call for an Open-source Legal Language Model

Abstract

Generalized AI like ChatGPT cannot and should not be used for legal tasks. It presents significant risks for both the legal professions as well as litigants. However, domain-specific AI should not be ruled out. It has potential for legal research as well as access to justice. In this paper we call for the development of an open-source and distributed legal AI accessible to the entire legal community. We believe it has the potential to address some of the limitations related to the use of general AI for legal problems and resolving disputes -- shortcomings that include legal misinformation or hallucinations, lack of transparency and precision, and inability to offer diverse and multiple narratives.

Keywords: Legal AI, Open source, Decentralized and Distributed Learning, Feedback, Legal profession