Judgment in the Age of AI · Article 3
A summary compresses; it does not replace. It can help decide whether a document deserves further reading, but compression removes tone, conditions, exceptions, strength of evidence and the order of an argument. The question is not whether AI can summarise, but whether the omitted material could change your decision.
Use three branches to decide whether the original is necessary
- Will you act on it? If the summary affects a contract, treatment, investment, assessment or public statement, read the original.
- Does the dispute live in the details? If exceptions, limitations, objections or wording matter, read the original.
- Will you represent the author? If you plan to quote, criticise or state the author’s position, read the original.
When a summary may be enough
A summary is useful for screening many documents, identifying broad topics or setting a reading order. Treat it like a catalogue card: it tells you what may be present, not what the source has conclusively established.
A practical two-pass method
- Ask AI to list claims, evidence, limitations and key terms.
- Return to the original with those terms and search specifically for qualifications, counterexamples and boundaries.
A summary should save the time needed to find what matters, not the reading required to own the judgement.
References
- NIST: Generative Artificial Intelligence Profile
- UNESCO: Guidance for Generative AI in Education and Research
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