Lawyers and judges have “no real choice” about whether they embrace AI, but there are very good reasons why they should, according to Master of the Rolls Sir Geoffrey Vos.

Vos, speaking at the LawtechUK Generative AI Event in London on Wednesday (5 February), said part of the reason is that their clients will be using the technology, but also because one of the biggest fields of legal activity in the coming years is likely to be around AI issues.

He said: “Lawyers will, as I have frequently said, be at the forefront of these AI liability disputes,” adding that if “lawyers are not adept understanding the capabilities and weaknesses of generative AI, they will not be able to advise their clients properly about the issues that will undoubtedly arise from its applications”.

A third reason for embracing generative AI (Gen AI) is that it will simply save time and money, and allow disputes to be resolved faster and more efficiently, he said.

“That is why I am so committed, through the OPRC, to the creation of the Digital Justice System, which will allow millions of disputes to be resolved online, using AI where appropriate, without the need for those disputes to enter the more expensive and time-consuming court process,” he said.

Vos added that lawyers who are sceptical of the technology because of fears of ‘hallucinations’ should not be using that as an excuse to shun Gen AI.

He said: “AI tools are not inherently problematic, so long as we understand what they are doing, and use them appropriately.”

Vos outlined judicial guidance on AI published last year that should also serve as advice for lawyers to safely use AI – the need to understand what Gen AI does and does not do, the need to avoid inputting confidential information into public AI systems, and to always review AI outputs before using the responses elsewhere.

He added: “To summarise, there are three excellent reasons why all lawyers and judges should embrace AI: those we serve are using it. It will make what we do available to more people, more cheaply, and allow us to do necessary things more quickly, and it will be at the centre of the future work of lawyers, when claims are all about when AI has been used for the wrong things, and AI ought to have been used but was not used.”

A Thomson Reuters report in December showed that a majority of in-house lawyers (62%) think they should be using AI to do their jobs, though 77% of legal professionals overall remain cautious about using AI tools.

Click here to download the LexisNexis Legal AI Solution Buyer’s Guide and here to visit the GLP Generative AI Legal Research Hub, in association with LexisNexis.