Insurance coverage protection lawsuits usually hinge on the plain and unusual that means of particular phrases or phrases. However not each phrase in an insurance coverage coverage could be outlined. But with out secure and predictable definitions, neither policyholders nor insurers can set up a transparent and constant scope of protection. In a current concurring opinion, Eleventh Circuit Choose Kevin Newsom means that synthetic intelligence (AI) giant language fashions (LLMs) might assist resolve these definitional debates. His opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance coverage Firm, No. 22-12581, 2024 WL 2717700 (eleventh Cir. Could 28, 2024) highlights the professionals and cons of calling upon know-how to provide plain that means.
This strategy could even provide promise for a basic concern plaguing the insurability of AI threat, which we mentioned final month. That’s, the best way to outline AI to make sure a practical and predictable scope of protection?
LLMs as a Instrument within the Interpretive Toolkit
In Snell, an insured sought protection beneath a Industrial Basic Legal responsibility coverage in reference to a lawsuit introduced after a baby sustained accidents whereas utilizing an in-ground trampoline. The insurer denied protection and refused to defend the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that Snell, a landscaper, negligently put in the trampoline in a shopper’s yard. The district courtroom discovered that protection would activate whether or not set up of the trampoline amounted to “landscaping,” as that time period was used within the coverage. However the coverage didn’t provide a definition for the time period “landscaping.” The courtroom, subsequently, turned to the “frequent, on a regular basis that means” of the time period, which the district courtroom discovered to not embrace trampoline set up.
The Eleventh Circuit in the end affirmed the district courtroom’s determination primarily based on Alabama-law particular grounds unrelated to the that means of “landscaping.” But, of specific be aware, in a concurring opinion, Choose Newsom prompt that LLMs like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude might assist discern the unusual that means of undefined phrases in authorized devices, together with insurance coverage insurance policies.
Choose Newsom recognized a number of advantages to utilizing LLMs for this function. LLMs practice on huge quantities of ordinary-language knowledge—far more than could be obtainable by way of a dictionary—making them notably adept at figuring out frequent utilization. They perceive context, which helps detect nuanced language patterns. LLMs are additionally more and more accessible, making their use a cheap analysis device for judges, attorneys and unusual residents. As well as, utilizing LLMs to facilitate unusual that means interpretation enhances the transparency of the deciphering course of as a result of queries and outputs from LLMs could be absolutely disclosed to the general public.
Choose Newsom additionally identified potential drawbacks. LLMs can “hallucinate” and generate incorrect info at instances. They may not absolutely seize offline speech, probably lacking how underrepresented teams use language. There’s additionally the danger that attorneys, judges or litigants could attempt to manipulate LLMs to favor their most popular interpretation. Furthermore, over-reliance on LLMs might result in dystopian “robo judges.
Regardless of these considerations, Choose Newsom means that AI could possibly be one other device within the judiciary’s toolbox, alongside dictionaries and semantic canons.
Can LLMs Outline AI?
As mentioned beforehand, we have now recognized the overall lack of ability to obviously and uniformly outline “AI” for functions of insuring AI dangers. Following Choose Newsom’s suggestion, we requested ChatGPT to offer a secure and predictable definition of AI to be used in insurance coverage insurance policies to reply the query posed in our final article. That’s, how ought to insurance coverage insurance policies outline AI to make sure a practical scope of protection? Right here’s ChatGPT’s response:
Synthetic Intelligence (AI) refers back to the functionality of a machine to carry out duties that usually require human intelligence, comparable to studying, reasoning, problem-solving, notion, and pure language understanding. AI methods embrace applied sciences like machine studying algorithms, neural networks, and pure language processing, which allow these machines to investigate knowledge, acknowledge patterns, and make selections or predictions primarily based on that evaluation.
ChatGPT even defined why its definition is an efficient one. It defined that this definition is complete, overlaying all AI capabilities and guaranteeing all present and foreseeable applied sciences are included. It’s clear and particular, figuring out key elements of AI methods, and technologically impartial, making it adaptable to future developments. By specializing in AI’s practical features, it aligns with sensible insurance coverage considerations. This definition supplies a transparent framework, decreasing disputes and aligning with current authorized frameworks, making it simpler to make use of in authorized contexts. It additionally minimizes differing interpretations, resulting in extra simple claims processes and fewer litigation dangers. Whether or not this AI-generated definition or some iteration would possibly present a practical definition for functions of insurance coverage stays to be seen.
Conclusion
As policyholders and insurers work to resolve the age-old process of supplying that means to undefined phrases, or defining new dangers like these posed by AI, they could discover it helpful to comply with Choose Newsom’s advice and use AI among the many different instruments of their toolkits to resolve definitional debates. For now, nevertheless, whereas landscapers and acrobats can relaxation assured realizing that trampolines should not landscaping (a minimum of within the 11th Circuit), the extra vexing insurance-related AI concern stays: what is AI?
