AI in ADR
AI and "Access to the Law" | A Deep Dive from MIT on Mitigating AI's Climate Impact | "Vibe Working" in Excel and Word
This human-curated, AI-generated newsletter from the AAA-ICDR Institute and AAAiLab keeps you up on AI news over the past week that is relevant to alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
AI in ADR and Legal Services
Can Judges Use AI? Inside the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Interim Policy
AI and the Future of Law Podcast
Bridget McCormack, Jen Leonard
“In this episode of AI and the Future of Law, hosts Jen Leonard and Bridget McCormack examine how generative AI is entering state courts, using Pennsylvania’s interim policy as a real‑world case study. They outline what the policy permits including document summarization, preliminary legal research, first‑draft communications, readability edits, and public chatbots—and the guardrails it requires: human review, confidentiality, and leadership oversight.”
AI Will Scramble GCs’ Calculus for Hiring Outside Counsel
Bloomberg Law
Eric Dodson Greenberg
AI is upending the traditional relationship between in-house legal teams and outside counsel, reshaping how legal services are structured, priced, and delivered. This shift is driving a divide between cost-efficient, AI-powered firms for routine work and premium specialists for complex matters, pressuring mid-sized firms. New entrants, including accounting firms, are gaining ground, while general counsel must rethink collaboration and value creation in a rapidly evolving legal landscape.
18 Lawyers Caught Using AI Explain Why They Did It
404 Media
Jason Koebler, Jules Roscoe
Courts across the U.S. are increasingly sanctioning lawyers for submitting legal briefs containing AI-generated fake citations and fabricated evidence, often blaming assistants, health issues, time pressures, or unfamiliarity with AI’s limitations. Despite growing industry pressure to adopt AI tools, many lawyers fail to verify AI outputs, leading to ethical breaches and professional consequences. The trend highlights widespread reliance on generative AI in legal work and the urgent need for stricter oversight and education.
Protecting Access to the Law—and Beneficial Uses of AI
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Mitch Stoltz
A pivotal legal battle between Thomson Reuters and ROSS Intelligence centers on whether using copyrighted legal summaries to train AI research tools constitutes fair use, with significant implications for access to legal information and the future of AI in legal research. Advocacy groups argue that such summaries lack originality, should not be copyrighted, and that AI-driven legal research serves the public interest by making legal facts more accessible.
From promise to proof: Thomson Reuters AI for Justice program helps legal non profits serve as many as 50% more clients daily
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters’ AI for Justice initiative equips legal aid nonprofits with advanced AI tools, enabling attorneys to handle more cases, respond faster, and deliver urgent legal assistance to underserved communities. By reducing administrative burdens and providing targeted training, the program boosts efficiency, expands access to justice, and helps vulnerable groups—such as domestic violence survivors and veterans—receive timely, life-changing support that would otherwise be out of reach.
Generative AI and LLM Developments
Responding to the climate impact of generative AI
MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Adam Zewe
As generative AI drives skyrocketing energy use and carbon emissions, researchers are developing strategies to curb its environmental impact. Approaches include optimizing data center operations, improving hardware and algorithm efficiency, shifting workloads to cleaner energy periods, and rethinking data center design and location. AI itself may accelerate renewable energy deployment and grid management. Collaborative innovation and holistic assessment frameworks are seen as essential to ensure AI’s growth aligns with climate goals.
Computers that want things
London Review of Books
James Meek
Current artificial intelligence lacks genuine motivation or understanding, standing in contrast to the speculative future of artificial general intelligence (AGI) imagined with its own desires and agency. Philosophical and technical debates address whether AGI could be designed to pursue human-aligned goals, while also acknowledging the risks of misaligned or manipulative superintelligence. Tensions also emerge in the ambitions of technology leaders, whose visions often carry contradictions. The central uncertainty remains whether true AGI would serve human interests or redefine them entirely.
LTH GenAI Legal Tech Map: September 2025
Legaltech Hub
By late September 2025, hundreds of generative AI-powered tools were cataloged in the LTH Directory, reflecting rapid growth and diversification in the field; an interactive map was developed to help users navigate and understand the range and application areas of these AI solutions.
OpenAI Valuation Soars To $500 Bn In Private Share Sale: Reports
Barron’s / Agence France Presse
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has reportedly reached a $500 billion valuation through a secondary share sale allowing employees to sell some of their holdings, reflecting surging investor confidence and the company’s rapidly growing influence in the artificial intelligence sector.
Neo4j Invests $100M in GenAI, Launches New Agentic AI Offerings
Morningstar
Neo4j is making a $100 million push to cement its graph database as the backbone for generative AI, launching new tools to simplify building AI agents that leverage organizational knowledge and context. The company is also rolling out a major startup program to support 1,000 AI-native companies, reflecting strong enterprise adoption and belief that graph technology is essential for scaling reliable, explainable AI in production environments.
You can now buy things through ChatGPT with new “Checkout” tool
CBS News
Megan Cerullo
OpenAI has launched an “Instant Checkout” feature in ChatGPT, enabling users to buy products recommended in chat without leaving the app, starting with Etsy and soon expanding to Shopify merchants. This move positions ChatGPT as an intermediary in online shopping, streamlining purchases and offering sellers new reach. Amazon is pursuing similar agentic commerce features. OpenAI also introduced new parental controls to enhance safety for younger users.
Microsoft launches ‘vibe working’ in Excel and Word
The Verge
Tom Warren
Microsoft is introducing advanced AI features to its Office suite, enabling users to generate complex Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, and PowerPoint presentations through conversational prompts. The new Agent Mode leverages both OpenAI and Anthropic models to automate and explain multi-step tasks, making data-heavy and document creation processes more accessible and interactive. These enhancements aim to set Microsoft 365 apart from competing productivity tools by deepening AI integration and expanding model partnerships.
Anthropic Will Use Claude Chats for Training Data. Here’s How to Opt Out
WIRED
Reece Rogers
Anthropic will soon begin using user interactions with its Claude chatbot to improve future AI models unless users actively opt out. This marks a shift from its previous policy of not training on chat data, aiming to enhance Claude’s performance with real-world input. The change takes effect October 8, with a default opt-in for both new and existing users, who can disable data sharing in their privacy settings.
When AI Joins the Meeting: Rethinking How We Decide Together
untangled.substack.com
Charley Johnson
As organizations consider using generative AI in group decision-making, it’s crucial to recognize both the technology’s limits and the complexity of real-world environments. While AI can process information and identify patterns, only humans can interpret meaning and navigate nuanced contexts. Effective integration requires clear boundaries, structured collaboration, and shared understanding, ensuring that human judgment remains central and AI serves as a supportive tool rather than a decision-maker.
AI Regulation and Policymaking
Marrying your chatbot? Ohio lawmaker pushes bill to ban AI personhood
Newark Advocate
Josué Perez
An Ohio legislator has proposed a bill to explicitly deny legal personhood to artificial intelligence, barring AIs from marrying humans, owning property, or holding corporate roles. The measure aims to maintain a firm boundary between humans and machines as AI grows more capable, reflecting concerns about AI’s potential influence over critical societal functions and the need for clear legal definitions as technology advances.
US Rejects UN AI Oversight, Sparking Fears of Global Arms Race
WebProNews
Mike Johnson
The United States has rejected United Nations proposals for international oversight of artificial intelligence, favoring national control to protect its technological edge and security interests. This stance, while benefiting domestic innovation and industry, has drawn criticism from global experts and widened rifts with allies advocating for multilateral AI governance. The move signals potential fragmentation in global AI standards, raising concerns about equitable access and the risks of unchecked technological advancement.
AI News from Other Fields
A long-trusted physician’s reference finally catches the AI wave
STAT
Katie Palmer
Longstanding medical reference UpToDate has introduced a generative AI feature in response to doctors’ growing use of chatbot tools for clinical decision support. This move addresses increasing competition from startups leveraging large language models, as younger clinicians rapidly embrace AI for faster, more informed patient care decisions, signaling a shift in how medical professionals access and apply knowledge.
Star Tribune’s AI lab transforms breaking news coverage with human-AI collaboration
mediacopilot.substack.com
Christopher Allbritton
When a tragic Minneapolis church shooting generated a manifesto in hard-to-decipher faux Cyrillic, the Star Tribune’s AI Lab rapidly translated and processed the documents using ChatGPT, then verified results with human experts. This blend of AI efficiency and journalistic oversight enabled timely, accurate reporting, illustrating how local newsrooms can deploy generative AI for high-impact investigative work without heavy investment or compromising editorial standards.
AI-Powered Dispute Management with SAP Enterprise
SAP Community
Active Contributor
Integrating SAP S/4HANA Dispute Management with Enterprise Service Management platforms leverages automation, AI-driven data extraction, and real-time workflow synchronization to streamline customer invoice dispute resolution. This unified approach accelerates case handling, enhances transparency for both customers and internal teams, and reduces manual effort, while providing data insights to address recurring issues—ultimately improving operational efficiency, financial health, and customer satisfaction.
Peloton goes all in on AI in product relaunch
CNN
Jordan Valinsky
Peloton is overhauling its product lineup with AI-powered features like real-time coaching and workout suggestions, aiming to reposition itself beyond cardio and attract new customers. The revamped equipment comes with higher prices, improved hardware, and a focus on strength training. Amid leadership changes, cost-cutting, and shifting marketing strategies, Peloton seeks to reverse declining sales and restore its relevance in the competitive fitness market.
The AI services transformation may be harder than VCs think
TechCrunch
Connie Loizos
Venture capitalists are aggressively investing in mature service businesses—like legal and IT firms—with the aim of using AI to automate core tasks, boost profit margins, and fuel further acquisitions. While early results show promise, challenges such as AI-generated low-quality work threaten productivity gains. Despite these hurdles, investors remain optimistic, believing that pairing AI specialists with industry experts can unlock new efficiencies and create profitable, scalable companies across many sectors.
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