Robot Invasion
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Law firms can choose to either reject or embrace artificial intelligence – but ready or not, the tech revolution has arrived.
Automation is an idea that either sparks genuine excitement or deep fear in lawyers. Having a computer extract the menial, repetitive tasks from a lawyer’s daily grind is a satisfying idea. But a future dominated by artificial intelligence (AI) – where lawyers’ analytical expertise is outstripped by the machines around them – is a troubling one.
When doomsday sayers suggest that ‘robot lawyers’ are only decades away from taking over, the feeling in the legal industry is, quite rightly, one of disbelief.
This may explain why so far there has been a snail-like uptake of AI technologies by law firms in Australia and around the world. As legal consultant Andrew Baker, a director at Janders Dean, puts it: “To be honest, globally, there is a lot of AI chatter, but the impact at present is rather weak.”
But, while the enthusiasm is lacking in the legal world, other industries are rapidly integrating AI. A recent report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch showed that 47 per cent of American jobs are likely to be automated by 2020.
The staggering gains that can be made by augmenting lawyers’ work with AI make change almost inevitable, according to consultant Dr George Beaton.
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