Courts and scholars are experimenting with artificial intelligence tools to help establish the ordinary meaning of words and phrases in statutes and contracts.
A tone of cautious optimism―one cognizant of pros and cons―about using large language models (LLMs) pervades the outcomes of some early investigations.
Future research should explore LLMs’ strengths and weaknesses before they are confidently deployed to supplement―not supplant―traditional interpretive tools such as dictionaries.