UKZN Law Academics Draft AI Ethics Guidelines for Legal Practitioners
Academics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) School of Law were invited to participate in a plenary session on Artificial Intelligence (AI) ethics guidelines at the African Cyber Law Conference, hosted by the Wits School of Law on 24 and 25 March.
The plenary focused on draft ethics guidelines for legal practitioners in South Africa on the use of generative AI, developed by UKZN academics under the leadership of Professor Donrich Thaldar.
The School of Law was represented by Mr Siphesihle Mbatha, who emphasised the urgent need for the guidelines, highlighting recent court cases that have criticised legal practitioners for relying on AI tools without correctly verifying the accuracy of cases and citations.
The initiative received strong commendation from both academics and Law Society representatives, who praised the UKZN School of Law for its proactive leadership in addressing the ethical challenges of AI in legal practice.
Members of the public, academia and the legal profession are encouraged to review the draft and submit suggestions and recommendations before the draft is finalised and submitted to the Law Society of South Africa.
The draft guidelines are available here.
* Comments can be sent to Mr Siphesihle Mbatha.
Words: NdabaOnline
Photograph: Supplied
