Holism in a digital age: Bildung, generative Artificial Intelligence and goal alignment in legal education

The introduction of generative AI (‘genAI’) offers significant challenges and opportunities for legal education. However, to date, discussion has largely focused upon the levels of error (‘hallucinations’) found within genAI-generated results, the potential for academic misconduct through plagiarism when students rely upon genAI in assessment writing and (in more limited cases) its applications as a teaching tool. This article takes a novel approach by drawing upon the field of AI safety to explore the wider issue of goal alignment, considering what goals genAI systems currently have within legal education and the normative goals which should shape future genAI use in this field. It argues that it is vital for legal educators to engage with this issue to ensure that genAI is used, and continue to be used, in a way which supports the overall objectives of legal education and avoids narrow and reductionist approaches. To facilitate this, the article proposes that the philosophical tradition of bildung be adapted as a conceptual framework to guide the determining of the goals shaping genAI’s future development and applications within legal education.