AI has been with us since as far back as 1951. Since that time, the advances in AI pertaining to legal research have been noticeable, but typically small. That was true until November 2022, when the large language model (LLM), ChatGPT, was released. Since then, products have been released at a record-breaking pace, all of them using the foundation of ChatGPT. Even Westlaw and Lexis incorporated AI-assisted research features in their newest release.

This informative CLE course will explain how LLMs work and how the way they are constructed can lead to the phenomenon known as “hallucinations.” Building on that information, the course will explain how to construct search queries that serve to maximize the efficiency of AI while minimizing the risk of inaccurate or irrelevant results. The course will also identify the ethical implications of using this technology.