In a move that has sparked widespread controversy, the State Bar of California has admitted to using artificial intelligence to develop some of the multiple-choice questions for its February bar exam. This revelation comes nearly two months after hundreds of aspiring lawyers reported technical difficulties and irregularities during the exam.

The State Bar’s decision to employ AI in question development has been met with fierce criticism from legal educators and professionals. Mary Basick, assistant dean of academic skills at UC Irvine Law School, expressed her disbelief, stating that having questions drafted by non-lawyers using AI was “just unbelievable.” Basick’s concerns echo those of other legal experts who argue that this represents an “obvious conflict of interest” given that the same psychometricians involved in drafting the questions were also tasked with validating their reliability.

According to the original article by the Los Angeles Times, the State Bar plans to request the California Supreme Court to adjust the test scores for the affected exam. However, the Bar has downplayed the significance of the AI-developed questions, maintaining confidence in their ability to accurately assess the legal competence of test-takers.

Leah Wilson, the State Bar’s executive director, stated that the majority of the questions were developed by Kaplan Exam Services, with only a small subset created with AI assistance. Despite this, the admission has fueled calls for transparency and accountability, with some experts suggesting a return to the traditional in-person exam format.

For more details on the chaotic rollout of the new California Bar Exam, you can read the full story here. The controversy continues to unfold as the legal community grapples with the implications of integrating AI into critical professional assessments.