Generative AI is transforming how we learn and work. The task for legal KM professionals is to ensure it sharpens, not dulls, critical thinking.
This post focuses on a compelling national case study. In 2025, the UK introduced structured guidance on AI use in schools. It’s part of a broader pattern: rather than chasing global dominance in AI development, the UK is positioning itself as a leader in responsible implementation and public accountability – a stance that’s deeply relevant to legal KM.
Education and law may seem worlds apart, but both rely on the same values: judgement, oversight, and trust in the information we use. That’s why the legal sector would do well to watch what’s happening in UK schools. Read on to find out what legal KM can learn from GenAI education strategies.
At ILTACON 2025, the mood had shifted. The early hype around GenAI was gone. In its place: serious, strategic questions. How do we ensure our data is AI-ready? What does sustainable implementation look like? How do we govern it? And who is responsible?
Legal KM people know that the accuracy of AI insights depends on the quality and structure of the underlying content. That puts them at the centre of AI strategy. As their role evolves from curators to orchestrators, the education sector offers a useful reference point for how oversight might work in practice.
The legal profession isn’t alone in navigating the GenAI shift. This year has seen massive changes regarding AI in schools. UK education inspectors will now assess not just whether AI is used, but how it’s used. Most noteworthy in the UK:
While countries like the US and China continue to lead in AI development, the UK is carving out a different kind of role: global leadership in governance, oversight, and policy-led adoption. Ranked fifth in the world for AI readiness, decisions about UK AI policy are being made by elected representatives – not left to the discretion of tech platforms.
Legal KM teams can take direct inspiration from the education model:
The global legal profession should be inspired by the UK education sector: recognising the power of clear policy, shared values, and a framework that keeps human judgement at the centre.
The next generation of legal are already using GenAI. People arrive with high expectations and uneven understanding: some are critically aware; others are overly trusting – or, in typical legal fashion, risk-averse.
Each perspective poses challenges for KM teams and the risks go beyond hallucinated facts. Various research papers have warned that unchecked use of GenAI could erode critical thinking. If GenAI becomes a crutch, it undermines judgement, creativity, originality and understanding.
The same is true in legal practice. If every firm uses the same models on the same data, the differentiator becomes how people interpret, challenge, and apply the results. Clients don’t pay for answers – they pay for insight. And insight depends on people.
This focus on critical engagement is essential. Students need confidence and resilience to navigate misinformation and AI hallucinations. As one recent podcast put it:
“There’s a tsunami of information, and everyone – from schoolchildren to older adults – needs lifelong training in how to think critically and assess what they’re seeing.” (Chris Morris of Full Fact on The Bunker Podcast, 5th Sept, 2025)
That applies equally to legal professionals expected to make high-stakes decisions in a world increasingly shaped by machine-generated output.
GenAI is no longer a novelty. The critical skill is not using it, but interrogating it. The best professionals won’t take outputs at face value. They will question the source, the method, the gaps, and the logic. Without this scrutiny, GenAI becomes a liability.
Schools and law firms must embed cultures that value rigour, scepticism, and human judgement. For KM leaders, this is an opportunity to set the tone – to build systems where critical thinking is rewarded, not bypassed.
Those who succeed will set the standard for intelligent, accountable, and trustworthy knowledge work in the AI era.
💡 Want to go deeper on the practical side of combatting misinformation in education settings? Read my companion post: 5 Practical (and Fun) Ways Librarians Can Combat Information Disorder This Term
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