Artificial intelligence (AI) offers numerous benefits to the legal profession and a host of other sectors, revolutionising how services are delivered and enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of corporate processes. But despite these notable advantages, AI has been viewed in some quarters as more of a threat than an opportunity. Can the automation it provides make someone’s job easier or does it effectively negate the need for human input?
The answer is probably “yes” to both parts of the question. Some tasks can be carried out solely by AI but others require some input from a member of staff. If AI is used in the right way, and used alongside human analysis rather than independently of it, businesses can benefit from it in several ways.
One of the greatest benefits of using AI is that it can enhance the efficiency and productivity of business processes. AI-powered tools can quickly review and analyse large volumes of documents for relevance and key information, which significantly speeds up the process, especially in the legal profession which deals with vast amounts of documents. AI can also automate the process of reviewing and managing contracts, identifying potential issues and ensuring compliance with legal standards, which saves time and reduces errors.
AI algorithms can perform research more quickly and accurately than traditional methods, identifying relevant case law, statutes, and legal precedents with greater precision, and it can even predict legal outcomes based on historical data, helping lawyers develop more effective case strategies and advising clients with greater confidence.
Another key benefit is AI’s ability to reduce unnecessary costs. By automating routine tasks, AI reduces the need for extensive human labour, leading to cost savings for law firms and legal departments of firms in other sectors. In our profession, it can also help provide more affordable legal services to clients by reducing the time and effort required to handle cases.
Whilst lawyers can never discount the benefit of human interaction with clients, AI can tailor legal advice and services to individual client needs, providing more personalised and relevant support. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide immediate responses to client queries, improving customer satisfaction and engagement.
AI systems can minimize human errors in legal documents and processes, ensuring greater accuracy and consistency in legal work, and can help standardise legal procedures and documentation, leading to more consistent and reliable outcomes. Administrative tasks such as scheduling, billing, and timekeeping can be automated, freeing up lawyers to focus on higher-value work. AI can also help lawyers carry out risk assessments associated with legal strategies and actions, identifying potential legal risks and issues at an early stage and detecting patterns and anomalies in data that may indicate fraud or other illegal activities.
Despite all of these useful benefits, it’s crucial to recognise the limitations of AI. AI often struggles to understand the nuances and context of legal language and concepts, leading to potential misinterpretations. The subtleties of legal reasoning and argumentation, which often require deep understanding and judgement, are challenging for AI to replicate on its own. AI systems rely heavily on the quality and completeness of the data they are trained on, so poor quality or biased data can lead to inaccurate or unfair outcomes. There’s even a risk that AI systems could produce discriminatory outcomes, especially in areas such as criminal justice and hiring.
There are also ethical concerns to consider. Determining who is responsible for the decisions made by AI systems can be complex, raising issues of accountability, and the use of AI in legal contexts raises concerns about privacy, consent and the potential impact on employment. Many AI systems, particularly those using deep learning, operate as “black boxes,” making it difficult to understand how they reach their decisions. This raises concern in a legal context, where there’s often a need for transparency in decision-making.
Despite AI’s many benefits, integrating AI-led systems with existing technologies and workflows can be challenging and require significant investment. The technology is only as good as the people who use it, so professionals need to be trained to make best use of the AI tools at their disposal. That said, AI is limited in terms of its scope and the ways in which it can be applied, particularly in a legal setting. It’s currently better suited for repetitive, data-driven tasks and may not be as effective for complex, high-level legal work that requires creativity and sophisticated judgment. Many AI applications in law still require significant human input and intervention, limiting the ability of law firms to fully automate legal processes.
As with most new or emerging technologies, there are security and privacy concerns surrounding the use of AI. AI systems can be vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches, posing risks to sensitive legal information, and there’s a risk that AI could breach privacy laws and regulations. Many businesses, including ours, at taking the view of utilising closed AI systems from established and reputable providers to ensure data security and to reduce the risk of AI ‘hallucinations’ – unexplained errors in output.
Aside from this, implementing AI systems can be costly. It represents a significant investment in technology, infrastructure and staff training, and these systems require ongoing maintenance, updates and monitoring to remain effective and compliant with evolving legislation.
Understanding these limitations is crucial for professionals and organisations to effectively integrate AI into their practices while mitigating potential risks and challenges.
So, is AI an opportunity or a threat? Probably a bit of both but companies can benefit as long as they use it wisely and are aware of its limitations.
