ABA Journal, This Law School Is Among the 1% That Allow Use of AI to Write Admissions Essays:
Can would-be law students use generative artificial intelligence programs, such as ChatGPT, to write admissions essays? Fifty-four percent of surveyed law schools have no official policy on the issue, according to a survey by test prep company Kaplan.
The Kaplan survey found that 45% of law schools have an official policy banning the use of generative AI to write essays, while 1% allow it. …
Kaplan didn’t reveal which schools do and don’t allow ChatGPT. But the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law has “welcomed prospective law students to use these [AI] tools,” Law.com reported in October 2023.
“Generative AI is a tool available to nearly everyone, regardless of their economic situation,” the law school says on its website. The tool can help prospective students “submit a strong application when used responsibly.”
Amy Beier Best, assistant dean of admissions and financial aid at the Arizona State University law school, told Law.com that applicants still must be truthful.
“Because we are allowing the use of AI in the application process,” she said, “we’re also asking applicants to certify that not only is information entirely in their application true and accurate, but as part of that, [asking whether] they’ve used any tools, whether AI or others, responsibly and ethically in creating their application materials.”
Taking the opposite tack, the University of Michigan Law School announced in July 2023 that applicants must certify that they didn’t use ChatGPT or other AI tools when drafting personal statements and essays.
Editor's Note: If you would like to receive a daily email with links to legal education posts on TaxProf Blog, email me here.
