Opinions expressed by australiabusinessblog.com contributors are their own.
The legal profession is no stranger to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact is only expected to increase in the coming years. As companies strive to reduce costs and increase efficiency, AI is being used for a variety of tasks, including contract review, legal research, and drafting legal documents. According to the World Economic Forumthe legal sector will most likely experience AI disruption after the transportation and healthcare sectors.
Five Years Ago, The New York Times reported AI does legal work, but it is not yet replacing lawyers. However, recent developments with ChatGPT underline how close we are to a reality where this will be the case. AI can now undeniably assist and replace lawyers for certain types of tasks – from drafting contracts to summarizing complex laws.
Related: Princeton Student builds ChatGPT detection app to fight AI plagiarism
Large language models, such as GPT-3, have recently revolutionized the practical use of artificial intelligence in the legal field. Trained on massive amounts of data, these models can generate human-like text, making them ideal for summarizing legal documents and predicting the outcome of cases. The recent acceleration in the use of large language models in the legal field can be attributed to a number of key factors. One is the continuous advancement and development of these models, which have become more sophisticated and accurate over time. This has made them increasingly useful and practical for various applications, especially in the legal sector.
Related: 3 ways artificial intelligence will transform the world in 2023
Another factor driving the adoption of large language models in the legal field is the increasing industry demand for automation and efficiency. Legal professionals are under increasing pressure to handle a large amount of work in a short period of time. Using large language models can alleviate this burden by automating certain tasks and enabling more efficient research and analysis.
However, the use of AI in the legal sector is not without its struggles. Cost is a major obstacle to AI adoption in the legal industry. There can be significant upfront costs associated with selecting and installing AI systems, as well as potential ongoing maintenance and training costs. The legal industry is highly regulated and meeting these standards can be difficult and expensive.
The lack of standards in the legal sector is another problem that can make it difficult to use AI systems. Laws and regulations are different for each jurisdiction and AI systems must be adapted to meet these criteria. This can be a time-consuming and costly process that may also involve hiring specialized personnel with knowledge of both AI and legislation.
Related: The Curious Case of AI and Legal Liability
Finally, the legal industry has an aversion to change. Many legal professionals, including lawyers, have reservations about the reliability and accuracy of AI and may be reluctant to use it in their work. Another concern is that using AI would lead to job losses or reduce demand for human legal professionals.
However, do these reasons matter to the companies and clients who pay for legal services? Probably not.
AI can significantly reduce costs and increase efficiency for businesses – there’s no denying that the use cases for AI in law and business are here, and they are not going away. AI can reduce the time and resources required to perform some tasks by automating them. For clients looking for legal services, this can ultimately result in cost savings.
The speed with which AI can process and interpret huge amounts of data is one of its main advantages. This can be particularly useful in legal practice, where it may be necessary to quickly review and analyze documents and other material. In addition, AI can get people out of the way with regard to due diligence.
Even online dispute resolution services like JAMS make in-person hearings obsolete complex intellectual property issues.
It is also essential to take into account the growing confidence in AI systems. This is according to a study by Deloitte76% of respondents said they trust AI systems to make decisions, and 72% believed AI could be a valuable addition to their organization. This suggests growing adoption of AI within the legal industry, and clients may be more willing to adopt it to achieve greater efficiencies and cost savings.
However, not everything related to AI is bad for lawyers. AI can open up new opportunities for law firm partners and general counsel, even as it automates low-level jobs. For example, AI in contract management software can make it faster for attorneys and corporate teams to write, negotiate and redraft initial drafts, freeing up time for higher value activities that are often valued the most: negotiation and advocacy.
As lawyers learn to interact with and benefit from AI systems, it is conceivable that the use of AI could lead to new career opportunities. Will AI replace human lawyers in the next five years? It’s impossible to say for sure, but the trend is undeniable: the use of AI in the legal industry is expected to increase in the coming years, and human lawyers will need to adapt if they want to stay in demand.
