Day 33: AI Policy Lurches into Law Schools
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
It’s August, which means Back to School - and, for professors, that means Back to the Syllabus.
I recently came across a syllabus I used in 2014. It had the required law school policy statements, which at the time consisted of:
1) a written attendance policy, and
(2) an inclusion and accommodations statement.
My syllabi for the last few years have also had to include
(3) a student wellness policy, and
(4) a COVID/remote attendance policy.
This year, we’re required to add one more policy:
(5) a statement prohibiting the use of generative AI, unless authorized for specific educational purposes by the instructor.
AI: To Ban or Not To Ban?
But some pundits suggest that generative AI could be used in helpful ways, such as to analyze and provide feedback to a student on a draft essay the student has written.
Law schools may be on the road to banning it, at least as a stopgap until its use can be standardized in law schools. Berkeley announced a policy before spring finals, allowing students only to use AI for spell checking and proofreading (spell checker being a form of AI, just not a generative one).
This may be good for law students: Lexis/Nexis reports that most law students are wary of it, both for how it might affect competition in law school and entry-level attorney jobs
AI in Law School Admissions
Schools are starting to split over whether AI is a good or bad thing for law school applications.
University of Michigan banned the use of generative AI in law school applications. But Arizona State accepts it, saying it levels a playing field where some students have used third-party consultants to review their law school applications.
Adapting AI to Legal Education
Admittedly, putting law professors in charge of when and how AI can be used in the classroom is not a very tech-progressive solution. With some notable exceptions, we’re not the most tech-savvy bunch.
But, especially given law students’ concerns about fairness, it makes sense to have some sort of policy about generative AI. A not-unless-I-say-so approach may be a bit painfully conservative, but at least it preserves some fairness while law schools learn about and adjust to this technology.