A Human Being Wrote This Law Review Article: GPT-3 and the Practice of Law

Authors

Amy B. Cyphert, West Virginia University College of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-2021

College/Unit

WVU College of Law

Abstract

Artificial intelligence tools can now “write” in such a sophisticated manner that they fool people into believing that a human wrote the text. None are better at writing than GPT-3, released in 2020 for beta testing and coming to commercial markets in 2021. GPT-3 was trained on a massive dataset that included scrapes of language from sources ranging from the NYTimes to Reddit boards. And so, it comes as no surprise that researchers have already documented incidences of bias where GPT-3 spews toxic language. But because GPT-3 is so good at “writing,” and can be easily trained to write in a specific voice — from classic Shakespeare to Taylor Swift — it is poised for wide adoption in the field of law.

This Article explores the ethical considerations that will follow from GPT-3’s introduction into lawyers’ practices. GPT-3 is new, but the use of AI in the field of law is not. AI has already thoroughly suffused the practice of law. GPT-3 is likely to take hold as well, generating some early excitement that it and other AI tools could help close the access to justice gap. That excitement should nevertheless be tempered with a realistic assessment of GPT-3’s tendency to produce biased outputs.

As amended, the Model Rules of Professional Conduct acknowledge the impact of technology on the profession and provide some guard rails for its use by lawyers. This Article is the first to apply the current guidance to GPT-3, concluding that it is inadequate. I examine three specific Model Rules — Rule 1.1 (Competence), Rule 5.3 (Supervision of Nonlawyer Assistance), and Rule 8.4(g) (Bias) — and propose amendments that focus lawyers on their duties and require them to regularly educate themselves about pros and cons of using AI to ensure the ethical use of this emerging technology.

Original Publication Title

UC Davis Law Review

Digital Commons Citation

Cyphert, Amy B., "A Human Being Wrote This Law Review Article: GPT-3 and the Practice of Law" (2021). Law Faculty Scholarship. 99.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/law_faculty/99

Source Citation

55 UC Davis L. Rev. (2021) 401

Comments

This article is included in the Research Repository @ WVU with the permission of the UC Davis Law Review.