LegalRAG

In an increasingly complex society, access to legal information is crucial to understand and assert one’s rights and responsibilities. Many people, particularly laypeople, face the challenge of deciphering legal texts. The often difficult legal language and the use of numerous technical terms often lead to misunderstandings and unequal legal awareness. Long, complex sentences with numerous references to other laws make it difficult even for well-informed citizens to understand their rights and enforce them. Studies show that a large part of the population is forced to engage with original legal texts when legal questions arise.

Our Project

Our project aims to develop an open-source AI system that explains legal texts in an understandable way and provides answers to legal questions.

Why not just use ChatGPT?

While widely available AI systems like ChatGPT are helpful for general questions, they are not suitable for legal inquiries. This is because such models often “hallucinate,” meaning they generate information that is not based on real facts. This is particularly problematic in the legal field, where precise and reliable information is essential.

The Goal of the Project

The goal of the project is to create an AI system that simplifies access to legal information and promotes the comprehensibility of legal texts. This is achieved through an innovative approach called Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). RAG uses a vector database of publicly available, digitized legal texts to provide accurate and contextualized answers. The database ensures that the information is based on reliable and current legal sources, so users receive concrete, verifiable information rather than “hallucinated” answers.

How Does It Work?

Unlike traditional large language models (LLMs), which rely on internal knowledge, RAG combines the strengths of an LLM with external knowledge sources. When a query is made, the AI searches the database for relevant information and formulates an answer based on real, verified legal texts. This ensures the precision and reliability of the information provided.

The Vision of the Project

The project aims to present legal information in a way that is understandable and accessible to all citizens. By promoting legal education and facilitating access to legal knowledge, the AI system helps improve societal understanding of the law. In doing so, it contributes to a fairer and more transparent society.