Whether you think artificial intelligence, commonly referred to as AI, is useful or a little scary, there is no denying that it is already starting to impact daily life. Have you noticed that when you do a simple search on Google, you get a summary answer at the top? That’s AI. If you have started using AI for information gathering on small issues in your life such as which restaurant to choose or what gift to buy for someone, you may have started considering using it for bigger tasks. If AI can search and retrieve answers in seconds, why not use it to help you be your own lawyer and avoid paying attorney fees?
As tempting as it sounds to use AI to avoid paying for the knowledge that you otherwise have to pay professionals to access, you should exercise caution before tackling your family law case with only AI by your side. Consider these drawbacks to using technology instead of a human attorney:
1. No Accountability for Inaccuracies and Mistakes
Even though AI comes with no price tag, it also has no accountability when it gets things wrong. And it definitely gets things wrong. The law related to divorce, custody, child support, and other common legal concepts varies state to state and procedures vary county to county.
While it’s great to have a tool that can examine all of that law in seconds, you have no way to know whether the answer you are getting is actually right for your case in a particular county in Indiana. AI is also well known to provide “hallucinations” which is a fancy way of saying it can give you results that are simply a fabrication. For instance, AI has provided convincing case summaries for cases that never happened and suggested that those cases are precedent supporting a particular position. Using that precedent to support your position in front of a judge can lead not only to losing your case, but to sanctions for giving false information to a judge. It’s happening in courts across the country and you don’t want it to be you. When those mistakes happen and your case is lost as a result, who will you hold accountable for leading you astray?
2. No Attorney/Client Privilege
One of the most powerful tools you have when you hire a lawyer is the ability to talk openly with your attorney about the facts and legal strategy, knowing that the attorney client privilege protects you and your attorney from ever being forced to repeat it. You can tell your lawyer the truth about difficult facts or discuss and try on different approaches to your case while you and your lawyer settle on the right way to advocate for the outcome you want.
When you enter searches in AI, those searches are not protected by privilege and are not private. In fact, the opposing party and his or her lawyer can request to see your search history and all results. Suddenly the things you gathered information about can be used against you.
3. Can’t Make Arguments in Person
Finally, even if AI gives you correct answers and prepares your argument perfectly, it can’t stand up and make that argument in a court of law. It can’t question witnesses for you or respond to evidentiary objections as they come up. Even if you have the right argument to make, if you don’t know how to make it effectively, you are still at a disadvantage.
Getting the law right is only half the battle. The other half is presenting it to the decisionmaker properly. Lawyers are trained to do this. AI is not, and it’s likely that you are not either.
