Artificial Intelligence, or AI, has seeped into every facet of our lives these days. In some ways, it has been beneficial and helpful. In other ways…not so much.
Legal advice, particularly in the area of family law, is one way in which AI can be more harmful than helpful. Many AI services, like ChatGPT, are “language learning models,” which means that they learn based on information uploaded or available to them, and then they spit that information back to the user, depending on what was asked of the AI. Like humans, AI can get confused, and it sometimes even “hallucinates” or creates new information based on what was available to it. There have been instances of lawyers citing case law in court that doesn’t exist! AI will provide a full citation and case summary, but none of it is real. Those lawyers often face sanctions and discipline for relying on incorrect and/or imaginary case law from AI.
When it comes to family law, which covers custody, child support, divorce, adoption, etc., each state has its own set of laws. What may be true in California, may not be true in New Jersey and vice versa. Unfortunately, AI sometimes can’t tell the difference, and so you could be following incorrect “legal advice” based on the wrong set of laws (or based on made-up law)! AI also doesn’t account for the fact that each case is different and nuanced even within the same state. What may have been true and applicable in Jeremy’s divorce might not be true and applicable to Conrad’s and relying on that information could cost Conrad a lot of time, money, and emotional capital.
To avoid common pitfalls created by reliance on AI, you should hire real attorneys (who check their case law and citations). Attorneys at Martine, Katz Scanlon & Schimmel are savvy and experienced in family law in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.