PRESERVING HUMAN FACULTIES IN LEGAL EDUCATION AND PRACTICE IN KENYA:

Abstract

The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the global stage, has dramatically and significantly transformed not only how knowledge is created, but also accessed, and assessed. This change is especially noticeable in higher education, where research, instruction and learning are increasingly incorporating AI-powered tools like ChatGPT and large language models (LLMs). This paper examines the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on legal education and practice in Kenya, highlighting its influence on critical thinking and human judgment. The paper discusses the transformative effects of Artificial Intelligence, such as increased access to information and the automation of tasks, while raising concerns of about its limitations in replicating essential human abilities like critical and evaluative judgement. The paper calls for a re-evaluation of traditional pedagogical frameworks in this new technological landscape. While AI tools like ChatGPT offer significant benefits such as automating research and improving efficiency, they also pose serious risks to traditional legal practice and education. The legal field ultimately depends on ethical judgment, nuanced reasoning, and interpretive analysis. AI cannot replicate these distinctively human faculties. As rapid AI integration continues, it is critical that academics and legal practitioners preserve and foster fundamental human skills, particularly evaluative judgment and critical thinking, within traditional pedagogical frameworks. This is because critical thinking in legal education is often associated with skill-based activities, including analyzing, synthesizing, judging critically, and evaluating problems.