August 12, 2025


UChicago Law Launches Innovative AI Course to Empower Tenants

Have you ever found yourself in a courtroom dispute over property issues, wishing you could consult an AI for advice? If you're at UChicago Law, this could soon be your reality. The prestigious institution is rolling out a new course specifically designed to enhance understanding and application of tenants' rights through advanced technology.

Students in this pioneering program will spend the fall quarter creating a database of detailed summaries on renters' rights. The course challenges participants to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset, learning the intricacies of legal-tech product development. To ensure relevance and utility, students will conduct interviews to gather widespread concerns and questions about tenant rights, aiming to tailor the AI tool to meet real-world needs.

The technical prerequisites for the course are minimal, making it accessible to those with basic coding knowledge—perhaps even those whose experience doesn't extend beyond tweaking their MySpace pages back in the day. The course promises to provide a specialized legal resource that improves on the generic responses one might get from a standard chatbot.

The ultimate goal is to populate an AI-driven legal tool (LLM) with a rich database of information that will provide accurate, useful answers to specific tenant-related inquiries. This approach not only enhances the reliability of the tool but also safeguards against the misinformation and confusion that broader databases might introduce.

Landlord-tenant law is a sector where the imbalance of power is stark. Data from CivilRightToCounsel.org shows that while landlords are represented by counsel in 83% of cases, tenants have legal representation only 4% of the time. By equipping tenants with AI-enhanced tools, UChicago Law hopes to level the playing field, though it's clear that such a tool won't replace the need for professional legal representation.

This initiative is not about replacing judicial roles with AI, as discussed in broader tech debates, but rather about supplementing the existing legal framework to better serve underrepresented parties. The course reflects a thoughtful integration of technology and education aimed at addressing real societal issues.

Best of luck to Kimball Dean Parker and his class on this ambitious project, which may well set a new standard for legal education and public empowerment. More information about this innovative offering can be found on the UChicago Law website.

[AI Lab is Coming to UChicago Law](https://www.law.uchicago.edu/news/ai-lab-coming-uchicago-law) [UChicago]