Those in the legal sector need to ’embrace AI or risk being replaced’ as the use of AI tools in the workplace rises. The warning comes from Paul Sams, Head of Property at Dutton Gregory Solicitors, who says law firms that aren’t using it, are ‘missing a trick’.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for decades, however more recently it is being adopted in the wider sphere of work, and by more individuals day-to-day. It is being used in arguably every industry to carry out tasks a human once did. Just last week the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) published its own analysis suggesting that 8m jobs could be at risk. In three scenarios the IPPR suggested the impact of AI on the labour market could; displace jobs with no economic gains; automate and create efficiencies in jobs previously done by humans; or augment jobs leading to few losses and an economic boost of up to 13%. Back-office, entry level and part time jobs are at the highest risk of being affected, including secretarial work, customer services and administrative roles.
Futurist Barrister and Broadcaster Andrew Eborn has often spoken about AI in the media, and has spoken on the dual nature of the new technology.
The Octopus TV president said:
“AI is our greatest human achievement and potentially our biggest existential threat. We are already witnessing seismic changes across all aspects of our lives- work, rest and play.
“We should harness the opportunities while safeguarding against the risks.”
Discussing the potential impact on legal services, Sams, who describes himself an advocate for AI, says:
“I am a huge advocate of AI and see the immense value of it. I believe AI won’t just change the legal landscape; it’ll redefine it. It offers substantial time saving benefits – it speeds up processes that once took hours to seconds, and means our teams can work more efficiently. Ultimately, I believe that AI cannot replace lawyers, however, lawyers need to embrace AI or they will be replaced. Lawyers who adapt will thrive, while those who resist risk being left behind.
“At Dutton Gregory Solicitors, we invest in technology and regularly seek new innovative ways to improve how we do things. AI has massively increased our productivity, as we are able to spend less time on certain tasks, such as collecting data for contracts or summarising documents, and have more time available to be client facing. We are a client-centric firm and AI allows us to enforce this further, with time saving on certain tasks now being dedicated to the client. Better communication and an improved journey for the client is the number one priority for the property legal sector, and AI enables us to do this without our functionality suffering.”
However he points out that the technology is flawed – explaining that programs and apps need to be managed in the ‘right way’ in order to produce results. The risks of AI have been seen, after several Chat GPT blunders in court.
In a judgment earlier this year, by the Supreme Court of British Columbia, a lawyer who had relied on case law generated by ChatGPT dodged a special cost order in her personal capacity. Last June, a US judge fined two lawyers and a law firm $5,000 (£3,935) after fake citations generated by ChatGPT were submitted in a court filing.
The Manhattan district judge ordered Steven Schwartz, Peter LoDuca and their law firm Levidow, Levidow & Oberman to pay the fine after fictitious legal research was used in an aviation injury claim. Schwartz admitted that ChatGPT, invented six cases he referred to in a legal brief in a case against the Colombian airline Avianca.
“AI does have its downsides. The programs and applications need to be used in the right way to get the most effective result. AI is almost like a child asking ‘why, why, why’ and lawyers have to explain the ‘because’. The more information and parameters you give AI, the better the result.
“AI can lack non-Linear thinking and very much just accepts a task rather than challenging it. These applications do not think outside the box and only deliver what you ask of it. This is where human intelligence and solicitors expert knowledge is critical – to oversee, check the source of information and challenge it. However, human intelligence and artificial intelligence can work in conjunction, in order to deliver a successful and productive output.
“Anyone that dismisses the rise in technology and the usefulness of it in society, or day to day working, would experience a huge disadvantage. Yes, there are risks associated with any new piece of tech, but by using it more regularly we can tailor it to suit us. It’s all about trial and error, and we feel AI benefits us as a firm.”
Concluded Sams.
One Response
AI is not trained to think “worst case scenario” – this is what we as humans are trained to do to survive. AI may provide “information and explanation” – the ‘advice’ bit needs to be retained in human hands – after all – is AI going to tell a developer’s solicitor that they made a mistake? Or will developer’s solicitor’s use the excuse “computer says no”? The advice is the “risk” bit where human input is sorely required to tailor to individual circumstances.
Chat bots on websites are only trained to pick up key words and provide a response according to the words keyed in. Garbage in = garbage out. It may help, but should NOT be relied on as being 100% correct.