The admissions department at the University of Michigan Law School is looking for personal statements and application essays that reflect the traits and writing ability of aspiring attorneys.
But those essays better not have been written by ChatGPT.
Michigan Law has explicitly banned the use of the popular online chatbot and other forms of artificial intelligence tools on applications and now requires applicants to certify that they haven’t used those tools in the drafting process—an apparent first among law schools.
The revised application warns that any false statements on the certification may lead to the revocation of admission or expulsion.
Being clear with applicants about the artificial intelligence ban and requiring them to attest that they haven’t used it “seemed like the right approach,” said Michigan’s senior assistant dean Sarah Zearfoss said.
Zearfoss said she expects applicants to honor Michigan’s Chat GPT ban even if there is no clear way to identify when the technology has been used to draft essays and personal statements.
“Will I be able to enforce it? No.” she said. “But in general, I’m relying on the honor of the people who apply in a million different ways, so this is no different.”
While Michigan may not have any company yet, law school admissions consultant Mike Spivey said he’s already heard from a handful of schools that plan to follow suit. He predicts that half of law schools will roll out some form of artificial intelligence policy for applications this year, and nearly all schools will have policies by next year.
But not all schools will likely ban using ChatGPT and the like, Spivey added. Some may opt to simply ask applicants to disclose whether they used the technology in preparing their applications.
The University of California, Berkeley School of Law was the first to adopt a formal policy on the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom, but for now the school has decided not to specifically ban ChatGPT from the application process, said assistant dean of admissions Kristin Theis-Alvarez.
“We felt that the requirement to attest to the fact that ‘all essays and statements are my original work’ covers the use of generative AI such as ChatGPT in a way we are comfortable with for the time being,” Theis-Alvarez said, though she didn’t rule out asking applicants in the future to certify that they didn’t use AI.