Lawyers warned against using AI
Six law students bag scholarships
The LAC director said lawyers who depend on AI for their work could be liable for any faults that may occur.
Lawyers must be held accountable if their work done by artificial intelligence (AI) is faulty, Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) director Toni Hancox said.
She made this comment at a scholarship presentation ceremony by the Law Society of Namibia’s (LSN). Hancox’s remarks were in response to comments by Legal Practitioners Fidelity Fund (LPFF) council member Taimi Iileka-Amupanda on legal practitioners using AI to perform various tasks.
"It is difficult to accurately represent your clients if you use AI - there is a certain degree of complacency while you still charge fees," Iileka-Amupanda said.
She believes this worrying trend may tarnish the legal profession. "It is not a good representation of the profession and I believe it can damage its credibility.”
Hancox agreed that trust in legal practitioners as a whole may suffer from the use of AI. "I want to believe that this is an honourable profession - you cannot charge fees for something that was not done by you," she said.
She further highlighted that AI draws information from a wider pool than just Namibian sources.
"This is something they have to look very closely at - what if AI gives really bad advice? I think people will have to be able to file a complaint against their lawyer if that happens.”
Scholarships
Yesterday morning, the LPFF and the LSN presented year-long scholarships to six law students. Johanna Endjala and Regina Songara are already in the second year of their studies and have both received an extension of their scholarship.
Meanwhile, Ndeshimona Kuzatjike, Peneyambako Tutaleni, Tracy Salufu and Mire Mweendeleu all received this scholarship for the first time. All the beneficiaries are women.
She made this comment at a scholarship presentation ceremony by the Law Society of Namibia’s (LSN). Hancox’s remarks were in response to comments by Legal Practitioners Fidelity Fund (LPFF) council member Taimi Iileka-Amupanda on legal practitioners using AI to perform various tasks.
"It is difficult to accurately represent your clients if you use AI - there is a certain degree of complacency while you still charge fees," Iileka-Amupanda said.
She believes this worrying trend may tarnish the legal profession. "It is not a good representation of the profession and I believe it can damage its credibility.”
Hancox agreed that trust in legal practitioners as a whole may suffer from the use of AI. "I want to believe that this is an honourable profession - you cannot charge fees for something that was not done by you," she said.
She further highlighted that AI draws information from a wider pool than just Namibian sources.
"This is something they have to look very closely at - what if AI gives really bad advice? I think people will have to be able to file a complaint against their lawyer if that happens.”
Scholarships
Yesterday morning, the LPFF and the LSN presented year-long scholarships to six law students. Johanna Endjala and Regina Songara are already in the second year of their studies and have both received an extension of their scholarship.
Meanwhile, Ndeshimona Kuzatjike, Peneyambako Tutaleni, Tracy Salufu and Mire Mweendeleu all received this scholarship for the first time. All the beneficiaries are women.
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