In a development that will either delight tech enthusiasts or cause human lawyers to update their résumés, a team of researchers has released an artificial intelligence model that passed the bar exam, a test historically known for causing caffeine dependence and existential dread in law graduates.
The AI, developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota Law School and the legal tech company Casetext, managed to score within the average range of human test-takers. It performed well on multiple-choice questions and even managed to write essays that were coherent, grammatically sound, and mercifully devoid of emojis or phrases like “as an AI language model.”
This feat raises a few philosophical questions, the most pressing of which is: What happens when your legal defense comes with a software update? While the model known as GPT-4 has yet to open its own practice or dramatically remove its glasses and declare “I object,” it has demonstrated enough proficiency to suggest some parts of legal work could soon be outsourced to machines that do not require lunch breaks or office birthday cakes.
Before you start picturing your future courtroom scenes as a cross between Law and Order and a Silicon Valley pitch meeting, let’s remember that the AI isn’t quite ready to replace experienced attorneys with graying temples and a fondness for Latin phrases. It can analyze text, summarize arguments, and draft basic legal documents, but as of now it cannot, say, charm a jury or convincingly argue that your client is a misunderstood philanthropist with no prior knowledge of the six offshore bank accounts.
“While GPT-4’s exam results suggest strong potential, we’re still in the early stages,” said Professor Daniel Schwarcz, who co-authored the study. “Legal reasoning requires far more than test-taking skills.”
Still, the ruling is out: AI is advancing rapidly in fields traditionally considered safe from automation, and the legal industry may soon have to reckon with a new kind of associate—one that never sleeps, never sues for overtime, and never insists on billing twelve hours for attending a one-hour meeting.
For now, the robots can pass the bar, but they still can’t pass the firm happy hour test.