University of Chicago Law School restricts AI, bans personal devices for 1Ls
To “discourage the offloading of work to AI tools” while not deterring its use, the University of Chicago Law School is adjusting its artificial intelligence policy that will now ban phones and laptops in 1L courses and mandate that exams happen in class without access to the internet, electronic files or apps.
It’s part of a three-pronged strategic plan announced Thursday to develop AI-resilient pedagogy and testing, emphasize “essential human” skills, and teach AI use responsibly and ethically, according to a published statement.
The new rules are especially focused on first-year core courses that emphasize the Socratic method, such as civil procedure, torts, contracts and criminal law, the statement said. While personal devices are generally banned, there can be exceptions. Professors can designate classroom “scribes” to take notes for the class; authorize electronic device use for specific tasks, such as interactive in-class polling; and ensure that disabilities are accommodated.
After foundational courses are completed, upper-level students may be encouraged to experiment with AI in electives and take courses specifically focused on AI use, according to the statement.
In recent months, law schools and professors around the country have been refining AI policies, three years after consumer-level generative AI hit the market.
In May, the University of California at Berkeley School of Law banned students from using AI for class assignments and during exams. Last month, the University of Texas at Austin School of Law called for faculty to use Socratic-style questioning in teaching and to view classroom time as “the sole context in which a professor can be certain that a student” is learning without AI.
Also, some law professors are moving to “old school” methods of conducting exams, such as pen-and-paper, handwritten finals and oral exams, the ABA Journal reported last month.
AI skills are considered vital in legal practice. In a survey released Tuesday by the National Association for Law Placement and the NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education, 48% of responding 2022 graduates of ABA-accredited law schools said AI was an important part of their work.
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