UBC collaborates with tech startup to study legal research engine (www.cs.ubc.ca)

The University of British Columbia (UBC) is collaborating with the tech startup Caseway to develop a legal research engine powered by large language models, funded by a two-year grant from the NSERC Alliance-MITACS Accelerate program. This initiative aims to mitigate the high incidence of inaccuracies in generative AI responses to legal queries, which studies have shown can occur over 58% of the time. Assistant Professor Vered Shwartz emphasizes the importance of enhancing the reliability of these AI tools for both legal professionals and the public, given the potential consequences of providing misleading legal information. The project will integrate advanced techniques, including retrieval-augmented generation and Bayesian networks, to bolster the engine's reasoning capabilities and minimize uncertainty in responses. While striving for accuracy, the researchers are also focused on making the tool user-friendly, balancing the challenges of accessibility and reliability. By improving access to legal knowledge without replacing legal professionals, this initiative aims to empower individuals who may otherwise struggle to find reliable legal assistance, echoing past work by Dr. Shwartz in developing AI-driven legal tools.