Is the legal system ready for AI?
An AI has passed a university level Law Exam. The professor even claiming the AI's answer was "better than many human responses."?
The legal world is set to be disrupted.
But...
Is the legal system ready for AI?
“The legal system is often a mystery, and we, its priests, preside over rituals baffling to everyday citizens.” ~ Henry Miller.?
AI has the potential to totally change the legal game in the UK. From automating boring tasks to giving legal advice, AI will make things more efficient, accurate, and accessible. But, as with any new technology, there are concerns and resistance about what it could mean for jobs, privacy, and most importantly the way justice is served.
A lot of people are excited about and embracing the idea of automating repetitive tasks like document review and data entry. It would free up lawyers and legal professionals to focus on more complex and important stuff.?It is already being used in areas such as eDiscovery ?
The idea of AI giving legal advice is a bit more challenging. It's one thing to help with the boring stuff, but replacing a lawyer's core skill of giving advice might be a step too far. Even though it would make legal services more accessible to people who can't afford a lawyer or are intimidated by the legal system, would the profession and the public be willing to adopt it?
The data is clear that AI will help lawyers and judges make better decisions.?This is a well described in Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow. ?Hunger impacts the ability of judges to make decisions, Ai will not be affected in the same way.?
But, the question is, will the legal profession and the public trust AI as much as they trust experienced judges? Some argue the risk that AI systems could perpetuate biases and discrimination in the legal system if they're trained on biased data.
Privacy is a growing concern for many people in a variety of aspects of life. It's unclear how AI in the legal system could contribute to solving or exacerbating that issue. Legal matters carry certain stigmas. While AI can anonymize people, after all it is just ones and zeros, the perception of having such sensitive data in a system creates an emotional response that might take some time to address.
The bottom line is, AI is here to stay and it's going to disrupt a lot of industries, the legal industry will not be spared.?The best quote I've seen is “AI won't replace your job, but a person using AI will.”