Vanderbilt AI Law Lab
Overview
An initiative of the Program on Law and Innovation, the Vanderbilt AI Law Lab (VAILL) is focused on the AI of law from a human-centered perspective. The lab is dedicated to exploring how AI can improve our legal systems and create greater access to legal help for more people. To do this, we champion radical collaboration and experimentation because VAILL is not simply a lab; it's a hub where innovative minds converge to reimagine the future of law through the lens of AI.
Our Mission
VAILL is dedicated to exploring the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in legal education and the practice of law. Our mission is to foster deep curiosity, critical creativity, and radical collaboration, bridging the gap between technology and law to enhance legal services and legal education.
We commit to ethical, human-centered AI applications, working to democratize legal knowledge and services for broader societal impact. VAILL embodies the spirit of innovation, cultivating a community where diverse perspectives converge to reimagine the future of law in an AI-driven world. Through our experiments, we aim to inspire and equip the next generation of legal professionals, ensuring they are adept at navigating the evolving landscape of law and technology.
Human-centered focus
At VAILL, our ethos is deeply human-centered, placing people at the heart of all our efforts. We leverage human-centered design methods to guide our work, ensuring that as AI technologies develop, they do so with a focus on human needs and values. This approach not only drives our exploration of AI in legal contexts but also ensures that our technological advancements are ethically sound, socially beneficial, and responsive to real-world challenges. By maintaining this human-centric focus, VAILL stays committed to creating AI solutions that are empathetic, effective, and grounded in human welfare.
As part of the Program on Law and Innovation (PoLI), VAILL expands the PoLI curriculum with a deep focus on AI, equipping our students with the necessary tools and knowledge for modern legal services delivery. Additionally, we’re extending our curriculum and resource development beyond the J.D. program to serve legal professionals and organizations.
Our lab actively engages in designing and prototyping practical AI applications, collaborating with partners like Legal Aid of North Carolina's Innovation Lab and Vanderbilt’s Office of General Counsel. We're focused on creating AI solutions to enhance the efficiency and fairness of legal services while scaling access to legal help.
VAILL connects Vanderbilt's AI research to the broader Nashville community, as well as national and global legal communities. This approach promotes a more integrated and practical exploration of AI in legal contexts, encouraging a sharing of ideas and innovations across different disciplines and regions to advance the application of AI in law.
Class of 2024
Jared S. Bauman
Our course prepared us to engage in meaningful conversations about AI with our clients and colleagues (in work through the Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic). In particular, our lessons were such that our team knew how to responsibly use AI from the get-go, adding to and refining—but never replacing—our research and work product. None of this would have been possible without our class and the foundation it gave us.
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