The University of Chicago Law School's Pushback on AI Kinda Rules

(Photo of lesbian cats unrelated) Lilith and Gargoyle having a midday loaf-off The University of Chicago's Law School published a memo last month about their new policy for first year law students - the memo is titled: Rethinking Legal Education in the AI Era and I recommend reading it. The main takeaway is that phones and computers will not be allowed for use in classes - and while that can seem fucking bonkers (accessibility notions aside for people who need laptops in lieu of physical notetaking) in a time where AI feels like it has a chokehold on the world, the purpose of the pushback is to promote critical thinking in students so their go-to isn't an AI or search engine...and I think that's kind of beautiful? The framing here is what's interesting: AI may transform the legal profession, but many aspects of legal practice are likely to remain the domain of humans, not merely because humans are good at them, but because clients, employers, judges, and society will want humans to…