October 03, 2024

Law meets innovation as generative AI takes a front seat for ASU Law students

Students and faculty at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, ranked the nation’s most innovative university for 10 years in a row, are turning to the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to help prepare them for what’s to come in the legal world.

ASU Law first permitted the use of generative AI in its application process in July 2023, embracing emerging technologies to make law school more accessible. Further expanding its commitment to innovation, the college is reimagining legal education with AI technology by recently launching an AI focus across multiple degree programs, introducing new courses designed to equip students with the skills needed to effectively use and address this transformative technology in legal practice.

In the last few years, the use of artificial intelligence overall has exploded across industries, with its use being weaved into the average person’s daily lives. 

Some ASU Law students said many internship programs are now finding ways to integrate its use into the daily workflow.

Jasmine Held-Hernandez is a third year law student who has held internships with Comcast NBCUniversal in Washington, D.C., the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission. She said AI has been a key part of her time spent at each internship due to the regulation of emerging technologies being relevant in the legal field. Held-Hernandez also said she chooses to pursue these opportunities because of her interest in the intersection of law and technology.

“When your focus is tech policy, AI becomes almost a punchline as it's hard to avoid in discussion and work,” she said.

However, it doesn’t just stop there as Held-Hernandez explains she has seen firsthand how ASU has gradually integrated the use of AI in syllabi, student conduct policies and coursework. 

“For my Law, Science and Technology course, the use of large language models (LLMs) to supplement our drafting was encouraged and students were taught how to properly use them. This training was imperative as LLMs hallucinate, or create artificial data that is inaccurate, in order to appease a certain prompt,” explained Held-Hernandez. “Therefore, using LLMs to supplement coursework, with proper citations noting the use of AI, were used in those courses which allowed the use of AI.”

With the use of AI on the fast lane, Gary Marchant, Regents and Foundation Professor of Law and faculty director of the Center for Law, Science and Innovation,  is trying to take the reins and find ways to use it to help benefit his students.

Marchant said, “I give them advice on how to use AI in a nuanced way as a personal assistant or co-author, rather than asking the AI to write the entire paper. The students who use AI properly produce very good papers — in fact, I now get very few poor student papers.”

Chase Martins, a second year law student and current research assistant to Professor Marchant, explained how he’s learned to use AI as his personal assistant when it comes to his work.

“AI strongly reinforced my own ideas. It helped me progress from point A to B much faster than I could alone,” said Martins. “It served as a consistent soundboard where I could receive feedback within minutes. This constant interaction greatly improved my work efficiency.”

The use of artificial intelligence however hasn’t been welcomed with open arms for some companies. For third year law student Bennett Houck, he said he was directed to not use the tool during his summer programs, but it's still something that has piqued his interest. Houck has been an advocate for its use and learning about the many advances in the technology.

“I made it a point to meet with the Chief Information Officer of the firm I interned at to learn how he planned to integrate AI into the firm’s operations,” said Houck. “I was very pleased to hear how he is approaching this technology.”

For more information on ASU Law’s science and technology innovations areas of expertise, visit law.asu.edu/science-and-technology-innovations.

 

Written by Crystal Jimenez