Artificial intelligence is better tutor than law profs, new study finds
Artificial intelligence is better tutor than law profs, new study finds
https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law-profs-find-ai-is-a-better-tutor-than-they-are
Publish Date: 2026-06-03 11:58:00
Source Domain: www.abajournal.com
Here’s an unordered list summarizing the key points from the article:
– A new study led by Stanford Law School found that artificial intelligence (AI) generated answers outperformed those of law professors in addressing student questions.
– Forty questions typical of 1L contracts students at various law schools were evaluated by professors and AI models Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro and NotebookLM.
– In a blind evaluation of nearly 3,000 anonymized comparisons, 75% of the time law professors preferred AI-generated answers over their peers’ responses.
– Professors flagged only 3.5% of the AI answers as pedagogically harmful, compared to 12% of their own answers.
– This study looked into legal reasoning, challenging AI’s ability to analyze complex material, synthesize information, apply it to new situations, and explain legal concepts effectively.
– The study’s lead author suggested that AI tutors could provide on-demand support that complements traditional classroom instruction and enhances students’ analytical skills.
– The use of AI in legal education is becoming a major topic, with mixed reactions from various academic institutions, such as the recent restrictions on AI use by UC Berkeley’s School of Law and ongoing experiments with AI for grading assignments and exams.
