But AI Said I Was Right
Mi professional development webinar

“But AI said I was right.”

Managing AI legal information in mediation. What AI slop is, why it sticks, and what mediation theory gives us when a party treats a chatbot answer as the final word.

With Joanne Law · Mediation Institute (Mi) · AMDRAS Recognised Training and Accreditation Provider

Do I get 50/50 with the kids in Australia?
Yes. Under Australian law there is a presumption of equal shared parental responsibility, so the court will start from 50/50 time. You are entitled to insist on this in mediation.
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Station 1 · Check-in

Has AI legal information turned up in your mediations yet?

Pick the one that fits. Your answer stays on your screen; we’ll take the room’s answer in the Zoom poll.

Station 2 · Definitions

What do we mean by AI slop?

“Slop” is low-effort, mass-produced AI content that reads smoothly but is generic, unsourced or simply wrong. Used well, AI is a useful starting point: it can explain a process, define terms and help people prepare questions. The Federal Circuit and Family Court’s 2026 AI Practice Direction says responsible use “can have significant benefits for efficiency and access to justice”. In legal information the problem is that slop and solid answers look exactly the same. Both arrive in confident, well-formed sentences.

Solid

Useful and checkable

  • Right country and state
  • Current law
  • Names a source you can look up
  • Says “it depends” where it does, and suggests advice
Sloppy

Partly true, badly framed

  • Overconfident (“definitely”, “you’re entitled”)
  • Agrees with how the question was asked
  • Generic, no facts of the case
  • Leaves out the conditions that matter
Wrong

False but fluent

  • Another jurisdiction’s law (often US or NSW)
  • Law that has since changed
  • Invented cases and citations
  • Confuses legal terms
Station 3 · Vote

Slop or solid?

Each card is the kind of AI answer a party might bring to the table. Vote first, then reveal. Notice how the “sounds sure” bar barely moves, whatever the accuracy.

Station 4 · Theory

Why the printout sticks, and what theory tells us to do

The AI answer is rarely the real problem. It’s a carrier for positions, fears and a need to be taken seriously. These are the ideas that explain it, with a mediator move for each.

Station 5 · Scenarios

Your move

Choose how you’d respond, then see the thinking behind every option. There’s rarely one right answer. Some options keep the conversation moving, and some quietly put you in the referee’s chair.

Station 6 · Live demonstration

Live AI lab

We’ll run these questions live in a private (incognito) browser window so the answers aren’t shaped by anyone’s history. Mark each answer as we go, using the slop detector.

Station 7 · Take-away

Five moves when AI comes to the table

None of these require you to know whether the AI is right. That’s the point. Your job is the process, not the verdict.

Keep going
Read the companion article for mediators, and share the client guide with the people you work with.

Which of these moves would have changed a mediation you’ve already run? Jot it here, then share in the chat if you’re comfortable.

Further reading

References and further reading

Research and practice writing on AI, legal information and mediation.