Opinion
Are chatbots actually an exciting tool for lawyers?
2nd Mar 2023
I was recently out and about on a Friday after work, attempting to ease into my weekend, when I asked a mate how life was treating him. He looked as though he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
‘Em, the world as we know it is changing. In two to three months’ time, you wait …. white collar workers are in for the shock of their lives. It’s going to be a bloodbath.’
He was talking about ChatGPT.
Now, I’m probably late to the party, given this sophisticated chatbot was launched by OpenAI around November 2022. I didn’t know much about it at all. I can’t say it’s being openly talked about by my colleagues, or something that I’ve seen much in the legal space until very recently. Or maybe it has, and my mate is right: I haven’t been paying enough attention.
‘Em, this thing can replace you – you need to get ahead of it.’
Wow. There goes my relaxing Friday.
I played around with the technology that night and, I must say, on first blush, I felt some unease. It seemed that many aspects of my role could be filled by this chatbot and it was a lot faster than my brain in processing some of the questions our enquirers, or clients, commonly ask.
As I mucked around with it a bit more, I concluded that yes, this chatbot could replace some of me, but not all – no way near.
I’m certainly not cocky enough to think this will be the end though. The OpenAI website is quite clear: ChatGPT has been released for research purposes – that means it will improve, and those gaps will narrow. There are also other players in the market, with Google revealing their ChatGPT rival player: Bard. Deep in the research rabbit hole, I read about one software engineer claiming to have AI chatbot technology so sophisticated they are convinced it’s sentient – eeep!
I also think the improvements will happen quicker than we expect. I was shocked to find out, from an article in The Guardian, that ChatGPT has recently set the record for the fastest growing user base in history. ChatGPT reached 100 million active monthly users within two months of release – by comparison, TikTok took nine months to reach this figure, and Instagram 2.5 years.
Whatever the outcome of all of this, it’s not going away. It’s here. We need to embrace it.
I spent the weekend thinking about the doors this technology opens. I also thought about how scary some of it is and wondered if the younger generation of lawyers are going to have gaps in their knowledge as a result of relying on this thing. Or will they leave me in the dust?
One gap I noticed was that while a lot of the responses ChatGPT gave me had the correct information on a basic level, there was no real way to fact check it, as it does not provide sources. That left me with concerns about whether it could truly be relied upon and what kind of outcomes would eventuate if people do blindly follow what it spits out. I think OpenAI knows this too, because their chatbot did often recommend speaking to a lawyer at the end of those quickly generated paragraphs.
Another gap I’ve been considering is whether the output is only as good as the input; that is, is it a bit like Google in that you need to know how to ask the question? It is, after all, just a repackaging of the information that’s already out there. Does ChatGPT understand the content it’s producing and the implications? Right now, no.
Here’s where I’ve landed: ChatGPT, and any of the chatbot technologies, could potentially make me a much more efficient lawyer. That’s exciting! I don’t think we should fear this: we should be moving and adapting to ensure we’re using these tools to become better practitioners. If I can use ChatGPT to be more efficient, effectively reducing the ‘cost’ of my services to a client, why wouldn’t I? And if using this technology can help me progress a client’s matter faster so they aren’t pulled through the compensation schemes longer than they need to be, then I should.
Although it has been confronting realising what ChatGPT can do, and what it might become, I can’t help but feel that this technology will ultimately make me a better lawyer for my clients.
ChatGPT might be a way to get quick answers, or to potentially simplify and summarise complex matters, but there are certain things that cannot be replaced by this technology, like the ability to emphathise with clients, to act with care and compassion, and to come up with creative ways to problem solve their matters.
If ChatGPT can help me improve and increase my value – I’m all for it.
This is an edited version of an article first published by Travis Schultz & Partners.
The ALA thanks Emma Davidson for this contribution.
Emma Davidson is Special Counsel at Travis Schultz & Partners, with more than a decade of experience in the legal industry, having worked across a broad range of personal injury claims, from workers compensation to motor vehicle accidents, Emma believes in being her client’s voice to ensure they are adequately represented through the legal process.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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