The document explores the strengths and limitations of AI in relation to Firearms Licensing
Introduction:
If I’m lucky, someone might say I’m a thinker and a tryer.
Less charitable voices might call it obsession… but let’s talk about AI and the results of my experimentation in this area.
The Rise of the Machines
The recent explosion in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been fascinating to watch and potentially terrifying in equal measures.
Recent figures from employment search engine Adzuna suggest that vacancies for graduate roles, apprenticeships, internships and junior positions with no degree requirement have fallen by 31.9 per cent since November 2022, when ChatGPT was released.
The Beginnings of firearmslicensing.net
When I first thought about creating this resource my technology consultant asked me if AI would render the idea redundant.
As a result, we experimented with several available systems with initially very promising results.
But then I started noticing some things.
Hallucinations and Misdirection
Caselaw – Some of the references I was being provided with were brilliant but didn’t actually exist.
On this subject The Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (“SRA”) recently said this:
“All computers can make mistakes. AI language models such as ChatGPT, however, can be more prone to this. That is because they work by anticipating the text that should follow the input they are given, but do not have a concept of ‘reality’. The result is known as ‘hallucination’, where a system produces highly plausible but incorrect results.”
Looking Elsewhere – I would ask AI a question, tell it where to find the answer and then it would look somewhere else and come back with something else entirely.
For example, I was researching the use of mentor conditions on Firearms Certificates and asked
“Are there any mentor conditions found in Appendix 3 to the Home Office Guide to Firearms Licensing Law?”
The system confidently answered yes, presented me with a direct quote of the wording and a summary of when the use of these conditions might be applicable.
This would have been fine but it’s completely incorrect.
In Conclusion
AI is a fantastic tool, I use it frequently most days but for now there are some areas that are still outside of its reach.
So where does that leave us?
🛠️ AI is a powerful toolkit—but it’s not a compass.
⚖️ For personal, procedural or high-stakes matters, always pair tech with trusted expertise.
👥 The trick is knowing when to ask… and who to ask.
(That last advice? Courtesy of AI, ironically.)
