Through the AI-Looking Glass and What Consumers Find There

While a lack of internet regulation is the norm in the United States, generative artificial intelligence (AI) presents a series of new challenges, particularly in the legal field. Those who are trained in the law know to check their sources, whether they come from case law or a generative AI tool like ChatGPT, but the average consumer is not so discerning. When that average consumer is in the midst of dealing with legal issues and has to navigate those issues without a lawyer, he or she is less likely to sit back and evaluate the information they’re being given, particularly if it looks bright, shiny, and full of knowledge and the ability to help navigate the legal system quickly and efficiently. This lapse in judgment, whether conscious or subconscious, may deepen the justice gap and cause those who are unfamiliar with the legal system to become even more distrustful of not only the system, but the resources that are meant to help self-represented litigants navigate that system in a meaningful way.