Judgment in the Age of AI · Article 10
“Is this legal?” lacks the coordinates required for legal judgement. The same conduct may receive opposite answers depending on country, state or territory, contract terms, legal status, timing and procedure. A common AI failure is to produce generic legal-sounding guidance without establishing the governing jurisdiction.
Draw a six-box map first
- Place: Which country, state, territory or local authority?
- Time: When did the event occur, and when did the current rule commence?
- Status: Consumer, employee, landlord, tenant or company?
- Documents: What do the contract, notice or policy actually say?
- Procedure: Are there deadlines, forms or appeal steps?
- Consequence: What right or money could be lost if the answer is wrong?
Three appropriate jobs for AI
- Organise facts into a timeline
- Explain terms that require further research
- Prepare questions for a qualified professional
The final step not to delegate
Do not let a general chatbot confirm legal rights, produce unreviewed court material or decide whether a deadline can be missed. Cases and statutory provisions must be checked in official legal databases. Where consequences are significant, seek a qualified professional in the relevant jurisdiction.
A legal question is not one rule plus one answer; it is a combination of facts, jurisdiction, procedure and consequences.
References
- Law Council of Australia: AI and the Legal Profession
- NIST: Generative Artificial Intelligence Profile
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