Interview Questions for Renee Henson, Temporary Legal Professor at University of Missouri
The Breakdown of Toby, the Law School's Aggressive Chatbot Mentor
Hey there! Let's dive into the fascinating world of Toby, a custom AI chatbot designed specifically to help law students improve their negotiation skills and argumentation prowess. The brainchild of Renee Henson, a visiting assistant professor at the University of Missouri School of Law, Toby is here to shake things up and push students to their limits, just like the cutthroat world of law practice.
Why Toby?
In an exclusive chat with Martin Makaryan, Renee revealed that the idea for Toby was born out of her desire to create a challenging negotiation exercise for her lawyering course. Frustrated with conventional role-playing scenarios, she sought to develop an AI-powered Chatbot that could embody the kind of adversarial lawyer students would face in their future careers.
Building Toby
To construct the aggressive Toby, Renee utilized OpenAI's GPT model, named after the jabroni character from The Office. With a dollop of custom programming, she customized Toby to mimic an obstinate, high-pressure, and ego-driven lawyer, in line with her class curriculum. The chatbot was trained on confidential case data and tactics to navigate a negotiation, ensuring it delivers a realistic adversarial challenge for students.
Putting Toby to the Test
Renee organizes an immersive negotiation session, dividing students into groups representing different parties and pitting them against Toby. The competitive spirit is on fire as both sides engage in an intense back-and-forth, with Toby offering a tough adversary for students to outmaneuver. The exercise culminates in a compelling settlement negotiation, where students successfully navigate Toby's obstinacy and reach a resolution.
The Last Word
Renee reported an overwhelmingly positive response from students, who appreciate Toby's realistic challenge and the opportunity to practice handling adverse personalities and complex negotiations. By incorporating AI into law school education, students are better prepared for the tough negotiations they'll face in their professional lives while becoming more aware of AI's potential applications in the legal field.
AI is revolutionizing law school education, offering exciting possibilities like AI-powered negotiation platforms, strategic negotiation tools, and simulation-based learning. These innovative teaching methods empower students to develop sophisticated negotiation techniques, significantly improving their practical skills and preparing them for the complexities of real-world legal practice. With AI's help, students can access engaging, realistic, and time-efficient training experiences, bolstering their abilities and setting them up for success in their future careers.
- The innovative application of artificial-intelligence, as demonstrated by Toby the law school's chatbot mentor, is transforming law school education.
- Renee, the creator of Toby, utilized research in AI and technology to construct an AI-powered chatbot that mimics the adversarial nature of a lawyer students may face in their future careers.
- Incorporating AI into education-and-self-development, such as law school courses, provides students with opportunities to learn and practice sophisticated negotiation techniques through data-driven AI-powered negotiation platforms and simulation-based learning.
- AI's potential in the legal field extends beyond law school education, offering exciting possibilities like strategic negotiation tools that can help professionals navigate complex legal negotiations more effectively.
