Our AI, Ourselves: Illuminating the Human Fears Animating Early Regulatory Responses to the Use of Generative AI in the Practice of Law

Generative artificial intelligence is changing the way lawyers work, and with those changes have come questions and concerns about how it should be regulated. Those questions and concerns, particularly on the individual level, are driven by fears about the implications of the use of generative AI. This Article identifies and explores the fears that drive these regulatory responses: fear of exposing judicial fallibility, anxiety over AI replacing human lawyers, and concerns about missing out on AI’s potential benefits. Ultimately, effective regulation of the use of generative AI in legal practice needs to be attentive to the fears and hopes surrounding generative AI in law.

Only by understanding the very human anxieties regarding generative AI can the profession craft effective regulatory models that address the integration of AI in legal practice.