Is there a possibility of lawyers getting replaced by AI in the future?
Yes, Consider the work a lawyer does. Much of their job is to put together agreements that ensure that each party has covered any issue that may cause a dispute in the future. They must look up previous cases and judgments to tailor their case to something they believe to achieve the desired results.
AI Revolutionizing Law
This is why AI is poised to take over. There is so much case law already online that a computer can process and find any number of paragraphs covering a specific subject. It can also review court judgments and easily make suggestions as to how to word any particular clause with the highest probability of that clause being enforced if required. For this reason, AI can do a much better job, much faster, and for much less cost. Lawyers will have a hard time convincing people to part with their money when AI offers the holy trinity of good, quick, and cheap.
Blockchain and Legal Automation
AI isn’t the only reason for the approaching lack of need for humans in law. Blockchain, too, will reduce the need for people. A crucial part of the blockchain methodology is the automation of contracts – called ‘Smart Contracts’ or Self-Executing Contracts’. What these do is take legal obligations and translate them into code. As the code is self-enacting, there is no room for dispute – which again will remove a large part of the lawyer’s need for existence.
AI’s Legal Disruption
Lawyers do seem to be embracing AI. Search a bookstore for AI in law, and you’ll see plenty of results. Perhaps lawyers just want out, or maybe they don’t realize the extent to which AI will replace them. I will be exploring this topic more in a book I am currently writing, based on my experience as CEO of a company providing connectivity IoT technologies. The book will discuss the impact of AI on the future of work, including a dedicated section on lawyers.