Nick Hafen, head of legal technology education at BYU Law, led a workshop on Sept. 5, about using AI tools ethically and effectively for those practicing law.
There were current BYU Law students and alumni in attendance. In Hafen's workshop, he advised listeners to educate themselves on the uses of AI.
“You can’t ignore it,” Hafen said. “You have to understand it, even if you don’t use it.”
According to the International Monetary Fund, “Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to reshape the global economy, especially in the realm of labor markets.”
Hafen has a hopeful outlook on the future of AI.
“It’s really exciting when you get to combine those, right? You can find a machine that does things really well, especially if they're boring for a human,” Hafen said.
Hafen also said that if we can make AI training faster, people's jobs will be more enjoyable.
George Monsivais works for BYU Continuing Education. He said they’ve begun to implement AI in their research.
“One of the concerns that we have is to make sure that we are using the information that we receive and implementing it in a way that’s safe,” Monsivais said.
Noa Leituala is a current BYU Law Student hoping to work in patent litigation. He has some ethical fears for data privacy.
He took a machine learning class as part of his undergrad at BYU and attended the workshop with Hafen.
He discussed his plans for AI use moving forward of "taking the time to engage with the technology, but also seeking to be more familiar and also seeking out that feedback to continuously improve my own skills,” Leituala said.
Hafen said if people are feeling nervous about it or worried, then maybe they need to find some more optimistic sources.
“Pick something that’s comfortable for you, and try doing it with AI,” Hafen commented, when asked about advice he’d give to those feeling overwhelmed with the expansion of AI.
As AI becomes more common, law firms have updated policies with its use. In some cases, this has limited the opportunity that lawyers have to interact with AI.
“If your firm is one of the ones that says you may not at all use AI, I would still encourage you to find ways compliant with that policy to learn about and use AI,” Hafen said.
He also said sometimes AI is better than humans and "we're going to find out which tasks that's true of." He then said he has a feeling people will still have a place.
Hafen has a positive outlook for AI in the future, despite the uncertainty.
“It’s empowering once you start to use it and see what you can do that you couldn’t before, or what you can do faster than you could before,” Hafen said.