Algorithms and Advocates
- Summer Poet418
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
By Julia Wojcik
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance and reshape current industries, a dilemma arises from a legal perspective. Can AI really take over a lawyer’s or a judge’s job? Or can these professionals utilize it in a responsible manner to help them in their day-to-day tasks?
The event, hosted in the Social Science Building, was moderated by Jennifer Uleman, chair of law and justice studies and associate professor of philosophy and critical theory. The event aimed to inform students about both potentially dangerous and practical uses of AI in a comfortable environment. “The idea tonight was to talk about the fact that careers in law are changing in light of all kinds of current developments, including technology,” Uleman said to introduce the event.
Afterwards, the people in attendance got to hear from the board of panelists.
Panelists included Ndukwe Agwu, J.D., of Build Up Justice NYC (formerly Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A); Kristyan Gilmore, J.D., assistant professor of law and justice studies; Colleen Duffy, J.D., associate justice of the New York Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department; Patricia Szobonya, J.D., director of the Legal Studies program at Rockland Community College; and Laura Ricciardi, J.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of law and justice studies and arts management.
Each panelist was given five minutes to share their viewpoint and ways in which they utilize AI.
The applications of AI were spoken about in detail, with Ndukwe Agwu starting the panel from his views as a nonprofit attorney. “And there's a need for lawyers right now, I don't see AI taking people's jobs away,” said Agwu. “Maybe it's enhancing. Maybe it's a good paralegal tool. Maybe it's taking over paralegal jobs, but you know, not in my industry.”
Professor Kristyan Gilmore also stood up for technology by indicating that if a person knows how to utilize it efficiently, it can provide a jumpstart to their career. “That legal tech operations person who likes working with systems is helping offices run efficiently and all that,” Gilmore explains. “I think there's a lot of that training stuff meaning to train the attorneys on how to use the technology. Like if you're into that type of stuff, you can go into a firm and make yourself indispensable, which is what I did.”
Personal experiences were a common thread throughout the panel, especially when hearing about active steps the panelists were taking to learn about this technology. Judge Colleen Duffy provided a different perspective on the issue as a judge and member of a court-appointed task force that examines the use of generative AI in the court system. “AI, if it has a gap, can fill it in with makeup stuff,” says Duffy. “They call it hallucinations, and what happens when a hallucination shows up in a brief? Well, that lawyer, that law firm gets disciplined. Seriously disciplined.”
Solo practitioner Patricia Szobonya introduced both positive and negative uses of AI in her practical setting, speaking from the perspective of someone who utilizes it for organizational purposes. Some positives included legal research, organizing large datasets and reduced costs, which led to enhanced productivity.
It was important to notice that AI does hold bias in algorithms and can cause a generational issue where people learning the basics of law may start to lose critical thinking skills. For this reason, Szobonya highlighted that people must “really have to go to the basics and learn just the old-fashioned way to have that foundation, to be better with the A.I. and use it at that to its main purpose.”
To round off the panel, Laura Ricciardi presented her views on the basis of what a lawyer does and how that connects to humanity. She emphasized different observations she has made during her career, and shared examples of specific cases that really impacted advocacy. “A lot of times, as a lawyer, what you're doing is trying to figure out, like, what is the actual story of what happens,” said Ricciardi. “Like, what is actually going on? And those are kinds of things that you can't really get an AI to do well yet.”
After every panelist had their time to explain, the event was open to questions and discussion from students on not only AI related topics, but also careers in law in general. This allowed students to gain a new perspective on a field that they might be interested in exploring in the future.
As the discussion came to a close, participants were left with a clearer understanding of the capabilities AI holds in today’s technologically advanced world but also understood that they face risks every time they use it. A lesson was learned that as algorithms evolve, the advocates who use them must follow.