A girl uses her mobile phone in Sydney, Australia, November 22, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo
By Karen Sloan | Reuters
Incoming law students at the University of Chicago will be barred from using phones and laptops in required first-year courses in a bid to curb their AI usage under a new AI policy, opens new tab the school unveiled Thursday.
The laptop and phone ban is part of a broader AI strategy the law school developed over the past year to ensure that “students actually learn to think critically, strategically, and independently without relying on AI,” before teaching them to use those tools later on, according to the new policy.
The classroom device prohibition appears to be among the most restrictive AI rules adopted by a U.S. law school. Chicago Law Dean Adam Chilton told Reuters he was unaware of any other school with a blanket first-year laptop and phone ban.
The University of California, Berkeley School of Law in May debuted rules that drastically limit how students may use AI. Critics have said Berkeley’s policy prohibits too many legitimate AI uses at a time when legal employers expect newly minted attorneys to know how to use the technology.
Chilton said it was important to prepare students for situations in the classroom and in practice when they must answer legal questions on the spot without consulting AI.
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