Cognitive psychology frameworks reveal how AI affects legal reasoning and learning, suggesting a new instructional strategy.
The legal profession is changing as generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools become embedded in legal research and practice. While AI tools promise increased efficiency, they also pose risks to cognitive development, including overload, overreliance, decision fatigue, and the erosion of metacognitive habits. This article applies cognitive psychology frameworks to examine how AI-assisted research affects legal reasoning and learning. It introduces the concept of intelligence equilibrium, a state in which AI complements rather than replaces human analysis. Drawing on these frameworks, the article proposes instructional strategies to help educators, particularly law librarians, support students in developing adaptable, critical, and ethically grounded AI-augmented research practices. By focusing on how technology interacts with cognitive processes, this article reframes legal research instruction around sustaining critical legal reasoning skills.
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Stephanie L. Grace (2025) studied this question.
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