On Wednesday, March 8, 2023, the LCO, in partnership with University of Ottawa Centre for Law, Technology, and Society, presented The ChatGPT Lawyer: Opportunities and Risks of Generative AI for the Legal Profession.
In this one-hour webinar, LCO Executive Director Nye Thomas moderated the session and LCO Counsel Ryan Fritsch explained the impact of generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, on the legal field, access to justice efforts, and the justice system.
Additional speakers included:
Dr. Amy Salyzyn, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law, Common Law, at University of Ottawa, Colin Lachance at Jurisage, AltaML, and Daniel W. Linna Jr., Senior Lecturer and Director of Law and Technology Initiatives, at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and McCormick School of Engineering.
The panel explained what lawyers should know about ChatGPT, how ChatGPT can be used in legal practice, ethical obligations to which lawyers must adhere, and opportunities and risks for access to justice.
“ChatGPT is clearly not as good as humans yet, but the demand for it is not being driven by the technology. It is being driven by the economics, and the barriers that people have accessing justice.” Counsel Ryan further clarified the due diligence component which lawyers inevitably encounter whether they are engaging a human being or AI technology.
This webinar was examined by Law Times in the article, “ChatGPT may improve access to justice, but won’t replace lawyers: Law Commission of Ontario webinar,” available here.
The full webinar is available for viewing here: