A.I. V H. Sapiens

Introduction

According to those that influence us, artificial intelligence (A.I.) is now the microchip revolution currently marching up the garden path of a slumbering homo sapien, to seize not only their castle but also the world and, no doubt, a galaxy far, far away.

If believed, this creeping and potentially malignant force will leave us all jobless and, worse, see off humanity in a mere nanosecond, bringing with it a whole new language of chatbots, nanobots, biobots, botbots, bitbots, and bigbots, to name but a few. 

This new force will be tended to by virtual assistants who, while looking like us, will not need the inconvenience of food, sleep, or playtime. Their only required sustenance will be hyperactive algorithms, which, no doubt, we could all use, instead of making do with the odd glass of wine, a weekend park run, and dipping a big toe in the Mediterranean for two weeks of the year.

Surely, we only signed up for technology to act as a tool to ease our burden, not pave the road to extinction? 

A.I. as a legal tool

As a tool, A.I. is increasingly used to benefit developments and creations of various industries, from medical devices, climate change solutions, and music and video games, to legal practice.

A.I. is reshaping legal practice by streamlining legal research, enhancing contract analysis, providing legal predictive analytics, and impacting the conveyancing industry considerably. 

All those who experience the current homebuying process will agree that it is time-consuming, with enquiries being a significant cause of delays. This, coupled with the increasing complexity of conveyancing, leads to frustration and, in some cases, a transaction collapsing.

An increasing number of A.I. conveyancing software packages are hitting the market, seeking to provide practitioners with a tool to tackle these issues and bring about positive change. 

The idea is that they will save time, reduce conflict, and ease the burden for stressed conveyancers by reading and identifying enquiries from the buyer's conveyancer, and generating suggested solutions for the seller's conveyancer. The ultimate benefits will be quicker case processing, improved retention of experienced conveyancers, reduced fall-through rates, and increased client satisfaction.

A.I. chatbots can interact with clients, answer legal queries, and provide basic legal advice offering a convenient and accessible means for individuals to seek legal information and support 24/7. However, do they replace that rare breed – a human lawyer? 

A.I. as the destroyer of worlds

A bleaker Orwellian vision of the legal profession, largely replaced by artificial intelligence , is predicted by the Law Society, as they forecast a dramatic reduction in full-time jobs by 2050. 

The report, Images of the Future Worlds Facing the Legal Profession 2020-2030, suggests that human lawyers will be hard-pressed to work on a par with the technology, and perhaps even resort to performance enhancing drugs to increase their productivity. It also foresees people having access to a free lawyer, a legal equivalent of Siri. 

When the senior partner is named HAL 9000, and a presiding judge in court dispenses justice 24/7without blinking, what sort of justice will that be? 

Conclusion

Part of the legal profession's function is to interpret law unemotionally and submit arguments on both sides. Artificial intelligence will be a useful tool in performing that function and its administration. 

However, the law is not just about interpretation. It is also about dispensing justice and, as the executive arm of government, providing a code of ethics for the protection of society, particularly the vulnerable, and reflecting the needs and demands of society at any given time. This involves fairness, impartiality, flexibility, and an understanding of human evolution at its core.

No algorithm can ever be programmed to cater for those very human demands. The Law Society’s prediction of the death of the profession is, in our opinion, greatly exaggerated.

Embracing A.I.'s potential, while upholding legal principles, will enable the legal sector to harness its power effectively and adapt to the changing demands of the digital age, but H. Sapien must, and will, remain in control.