AI ETHICS
6.
Rule 2.1 – Independent Professional Judgment; Environmental Responsibility
Model Rule 2.1 provides that lawyers “shall exercise independent professional judgment and render candid advice.” Beyond traditional ethical considerations, defenders should consider the environmental impact of AI use. Large language models require enormous computational resources. Although the full extent of the environmental impact is contested among scholars and experts, it is clear that AI models can consume consequential amounts of electricity and generate significant carbon emissions. Ongoing use of AI systems continues to consume energy for each query processed. NACDL has committed to environmental sustainability. Defenders who share this commitment should consider AI’s environmental footprint when selecting and deploying tools. Where possible, defenders should prefer smaller, task-specific models over massive general-purpose systems; select providers that use renewable energy; avoid unnecessary or duplicative AI queries; and advocate for vendors to improve their environmental practices. These considerations may not necessarily override other factors in AI selection, but they deserve weight alongside cost, capability, and security in the overall evaluation.
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Parity in Practice: The Defender’s Duty to Ethically Use AI
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