Should you use aI to study for the SQE?

Wouldn’t it be cool if it was possible to upload SQE materials to AI and have AI create practice questions, identify weak areas and create additional questions? Today we explore – should you use AI to study for the SQE?

To be clear, before we continue I am not advocating for anyone to upload any licensed materials to AI.

It all started this week when I saw the following two headlines:

1. Kaplan’s use of AI for SQE ‘question development’ comes under scrutiny amid US Bar row by LegalCheek. In the Legal Cheek article I note:
   • “To be clear, we [Kaplan] have not used any questions generated by AI in any SQE assessments. All questions used in SQE assessments are drafted by solicitors of England and Wales…”
2. State Bar of California admits it used AI to develop exam questions, triggering new furor by The LA Times

If AI can be used to develop questions, can we use AI to study?

Should you use AI to study for the SQE?.

First, if you are taking a course from a SQE course provider chances are you may already be using AI.

However, what I was thinking about is if I took the sample SQE 1 questions from the SRA and asked ChatGPT for the answers.

Would ChatGPT give me the correct answer and explanations?

Randomly I picked one question from the sample questions and asked ChatGPT, to my surprise the answer came back correct. I confirmed with the answer key SRA provides at the end of the sample questions.

I picked a second question from the sample question and copied it into ChatGPT and again it was correct. Seeing this I started to feel some confidence.

Unfortunately, the confidence was very short lived. On the third question ChatGPT got it incorrect.

I immediately stopped.

In 2023 I remember reading an article; Latest version of ChatGPT aces bar exam with score nearing 90th percentile. The 2023 article stated “While GPT-4 performs well on many questions, its output is not completely free of errors,” the researchers concluded.

Surely, models have improved, but looks like ChatGPT has some way to go for the SQE. Maybe chatGPT is capable of passing SQE 1, however, ChatGPT is not free of errors for the SQE materials.

Think about the bigger picture

In recent times we all likely have seen social media posts saying that the legal profession is dying and ChatGPT can handle simple things my lawyer can.

In my view AI is another tool in the lawyer’s tool kit. 

Does AI have good uses in the legal industry? – yes!

Will it eliminate the need for lawyers completely – no!

In Conclusion

The SQE is one of the most difficult exams to take. If you are taking a course from a SQE course provider, they may have built the course using AI elements. Check with your course provider.

If you are self studying, be cautious as the output from ChatGPT can look and feel right but may not be. Use trusted materials from trusted sources.