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Dangers of using ChatGPT in Contract Drafting

Reading time: 10 mins

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of many industries, including the legal sector.

ChatGPT can be a useful tool and is praised by many for the human-like text creation, making AI  a handy companion for drafting or reviewing tasks. Although these tools offer advantages, individuals should also consider the risks and drawbacks they present.

This article discusses the risks of using artificial intelligence, like the Chat GPT model, for creating legal contracts. We look at the value of human knowledge and the need to balance technology and human input for optimal results.

Key Takeaways

  • Using ChatGPT in drafting contracts presents opportunities and challenges
  • Users must exercise caution and verify AI-generated information against reliable sources, especially when dealing with complex legal matters
  • Ethical and privacy concerns also warrant careful consideration to prevent misuse of the technology and protect sensitive information
  • Knowing the law is important for creating enforceable contracts, reducing risks, and accurately representing the parties’ intentions
  • Combining technology with human legal expertise in contract writing enhances efficiency and ensures the legal integrity of contracts
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What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a language model developed by OpenAI. Using machine learning techniques, it generates human-like text based on the input it receives. 

It can helps with emails, coding, writing, answering questions, tutoring, translating, and creating characters for video games, among other things.

ChatGPT can write well, but it doesn’t fully understand and may sometimes give wrong or confusing answers. The creators of language models such as ChatGPT are well aware of the limitations and provide users with disclaimers when they seek to generation information.

Dangers of using ChatGPT in writing your contracts

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of many industries, including the legal sector.

ChatGPT is praised by many for the human-like text creation, making them useful for drafting or reviewing tasks. Although these tools offer advantages, individuals should also consider the risks and drawbacks they present:

Lack of Understanding

One of the limitations of ChatGPT, is its lack of genuine understanding of the content it generates for useres. ChatGPT can produce text that appears to be human-like. But it struggles to understand the information it receives or the responses it generates.

Further, there is a risk that this AI could draft unfair contract terms into your contracts, which could have significant consequences for your business.

ChatGPT and other AI tools are statistical machines. They use patterns from lots of data to respond, but they don’t truly understand the subject in an in-depth or meaningful way. They don’t have beliefs, desires, opinions or experiences to draw upon. They analyse the given input and generate the most likely response based on the data they have been trained on.

As AI doesn’t truly understand the content, it can’t verify the accuracy of the information it’s providing. It can’t distinguish between reliable and not reliable sources, or between fact and fiction. 

Dependence on Input

The quality of ChatGPT’s output depends on the quality of the input it gets. This dependence on input quality is a critical aspect to consider when using ChatGPT.

If the input provided is ambiguous, incomplete, or flawed, the AI’s output will likely mirror these deficiencies. If the user’s prompt is unclear or poorly explained, ChatGPT might give an unclear or irrelevant answer. 

ChatGPT struggles to understand incomplete or unclear information because it’s AI lacks human creativity and abilities. It solely relies on the data it receives in the query and the patterns it learns from its training data.

Lack of Creativity

ChatGPT generates text based on patterns and structures it’s learned from a large dataset. It can mimic human writing to some extent, but it lacks the ability to think creatively or outside the box like a human.

Creativity is a complex process involving original thinking, making connections between ideas, and imagining new possibilities. The process is rooted in our emotions, experiences, and subjective understanding of the world. This level of creativity is currently beyond the reach of artificial intelligence.

A lack of creativity can be a downside when using ChatGPT for drafting, as typically legal problems or drafting require some level of creativity when wording clauses to cover certain rights, obligations or responsibilities.

Further, the AI is unable to draft tailored clauses, such as termination rights.

Ethical and Privacy Concerns

Ethical and privacy concerns surrounding the use of ChatGPT are varied and significant. Depending on who you speak with, some worry about potential misuse of this AI technology, which can lead to troublesome consequences.

One of the primary ethical concerns of using ChatGPT is the invasion of privacy. ChatGPT is capable of processing and generating information based on vast amounts of data. This data is generally inputted by a human to obtain a result. If not managed properly, these systems may unintentionally expose or use private information without the submitters permission.

Incorrect and fabricated information

ChatGPT can handle a many topics, but sometimes it can give wrong or incomplete answers. Using complex words or discussing complicated topics can lead to these tools providing wrong or illogical information.

This is especially true when dealing with specialised or technical fields that require expertise and a deep understanding (such as Australian law). Sometimes, ChatGPT may not fully understand complex topics, so its responses can be misleading or wrong.

We recommend researching and verifying information from reliable sources, especially when dealing with complex issues or when accuracy is paramount.

A notable example of this issue is when ChatGPT references legal cases, such as decisions allegedly handed down by the Australian Courts. ChatGPT can generate case names, citations, and results that appear genuine. However, upon verification, it becomes evident that these interpretations are actually false.

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Advantages of ChatGPT

Automation of Repetitive Tasks

ChatGPT excels at automating mundane and repetitive tasks, freeing up employees for more complex and creative tasks. This can boost productivity in various industries, from manufacturing and logistics to customer service and data entry.

Improved Decision-Making

ChatGPT algorithms can analyse large amounts of data to identify patterns and trends that humans might miss. This enables businesses to make data-driven decisions, optimise operations, and predict future outcomes with greater accuracy.

Reduced Human Error

ChatGPT and other AI models are less prone to errors caused by fatigue, distraction, or human bias. This can be crucial in fields like healthcare, where even minor mistakes can have serious consequences.

The Importance of Legal Expertise in Contract Writing

Contracts form the foundation of agreements between parties, outlining rights, responsibilities, and expectations. A well-written contract can protect all parties involved, ensure a smooth and successful transaction and mitigate legal risk.

Drafting a legally sound contract is not as simple as putting pen to paper, or asking an AI model to draft you a contract. This is where the importance of human legal expertise in contract writing comes into play.

There are several reasons why legal expertise is crucial for writing effective contracts:

  1. Contracts are governed by complex legal principles. A lawyer will have a deep understanding of these principles and how they apply to different types of agreements. This ensures that the contract is legally sound and enforceable.
  2. A lawyer can anticipate potential risks and issues that may arise from the agreement. They can then draft the contract in a way that mitigates these risks and protects the interests of all parties.
  3. Legal documents may contain legal jargon and can be difficult to understand. A lawyer can draft the contract in clear and concise language that is easy for all parties to understand. This reduces the risk of misunderstandings and disputes.
  4.  Drafting a contract is often a collaborative process that involves negotiation. A lawyer can advocate for your interests and ensure that you get the best possible terms in the agreement.
  5. Including a lawyer in contract writing ensures that your contracts are compliant with appropriate laws, and also helps to safeguard your interests, potentially preventing expensive errors.

How to balance technology and human expertise in contract writing

Balancing technology and human expertise in contract writing involves leveraging the strengths of both.

ChatGPT can make drafting faster, consistent, and error-free by automating repetitive tasks and using standard contract templates. However, human expertise is crucial for understanding the nuances of legal language, interpreting complex situations, tailoring the contract to the parties and making strategic decisions.

Contract lawyers assist by discussing terms, comprehending clauses, mitigating future risk, and ensuring the terms match the client’s objectives and risk tolerance.

An ideal balance would be to use technology for routine tasks. Relying on human expertise for the strategic and complex aspects of contract writing would be more beneficial to clients.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does using ChatGPT expose the parties to breach of confidentiality?

ChatGPT can put sensitive information at risk of being exposed.

It has experienced data breaches in the past, which exposed personal details of subscribers. This included names, email addresses, payment information, and conversations.

Users need to be careful about what information they put into their AI tools to ensure client and critical business information is not being unknowingly compromised.

Artificial Intelligence also known as “AI” refers to the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. These processes involve acquiring information and using rules to make conclusions.

We can classify AI technologies into two main types:

  • Narrow AI does specific tasks like recognising voices, making recommendations, or identifying images. They operate with a limited set of constraints and focus on a single narrow task.
  • General AI can do any intellectual task that humans can do. They can understand, learn, adapt, and implement knowledge in a broad range of tasks. However, this type of AI exists currently more in theory and research rather than in practical applications.
There are various AI tools available in Australia, including:
  • Copilot
  • Google Bard / Gemini
  • Jasper AI

About the Author

Allison Inskip

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