New Delhi, India— Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving forward quickly, and it’s making it harder for many businesses to stick to their usual ways of doing things. The legal field is no different. A recent popular post on X (previously Twitter) by senior counsel Sidharth Luthra has sparked a new and heated discussion on the proper use of AI tools, especially ChatGPT, in the legal field.
Luthra’s post shared a story from his own office about a law intern who was helping with an appeal case and suggested using ChatGPT to look at complicated witness statements. But the intern’s mentor is said to have flatly turned down the suggestion. The mentor instead gave the intern a stack of hard copies and told him to trust “natural intelligence” over “artificial intelligence.”
“A law intern wanted to utilize Chat GPT to look at witness statements for an appeal in my office. Luthra wrote, “His mentor gave him hard copies to use natural Intelligence instead of artificial Intelligence [AI]!!!!” This set off a flurry of responses on the platform.
Social Media Weighs In: A Fight Between Generations and Methods
The senior advocate’s message rapidly went viral, getting comments from a wide range of people, many of whom were lawyers. The online conversation made it clear that there is a generational and philosophical gap in the legal industry about the use of new technology.
A lot of X users said that completely ignoring AI technologies would not be a good idea. One person said, “AI can also read and analyze hard copies very well.” Sometimes better than people. Lawyers need to accept AI, not fight it. This feeling shows that more and more people think that AI can help, not hurt, people’s ability to do legal job.
Another person who answered provided an unexpected real-world use, showing a trend at some police stations: “In some well-known police stations in Telugu states, officers are reportedly using ChatGPT to make remand copies.” AI was recording and processing statements without the accused knowing. They mentioned it was saving them time typing and that the portions were also correct. This story shows how AI may make things more efficient and also raises ethical questions when it is employed in delicate legal situations without being clear about what it is doing.
Several individuals who talked about how combining human judgment with AI’s analytical power could lead to better results gave a more balanced view. Many people agreed with comments like “Natural intelligence combined with artificial intelligence is the way forward.” Another very smart comment foretold the change that was sure to happen: “AI won’t replace lawyers, but lawyers who use AI will replace those who don’t. The next 5–7 years will prove this.”
AI’s Role in Legal Processes: What It Means for the Future
Luthra’s post sparked a lively discussion that has led to a larger topic about how to use AI in judicial processes in a way that is both useful and moral. Some people see AI as a threat to established norms, moral standards, or even job security in the field. People are often worried about things like data privacy, algorithmic bias, the “black box” aspect of some AI models, and the fact that humans need to be in charge and responsible for making legal decisions.
On the other hand, more and more lawyers are saying that AI tools like ChatGPT are not meant to take the place of lawyers but to help them in a big way. Supporters point out that AI could:
Make research easier: Quickly go through huge databases of legal documents, case law, and statutes.
Help in writing legal paperwork and making sure the language is correct.
Get rid of repetitive tasks: Automate boring and time-consuming office labor so that lawyers can focus on more difficult, strategic responsibilities.
Improve predictive analytics by looking at past data to make guesses about how a case might turn out.
As AI technology keeps getting better, lawyers need to adapt and provide clear rules for how to use it in an ethical and successful way. This one viral post started a debate that is a little example of the bigger change that AI is bringing to the legal field. It is forcing lawyers to think about how to best use new technology while still following the basic rules of justice and human judgment.