How Will AI Impact Decision-Making for Lawyers?
Let's face it, artificial intelligence is already here in many different forms. Siri, Alexa, and all the other digital assistants are now commonplace in many peoples' lives. Rather than flipping on the TV, or opening a computer, or looking at that thermometer hanging outside your back window, or just even opening that window, to find out what the weather's like, most of us now just ask: "Hey Siri, what's the weather?"
This simple difference may seem minute, but AI has the potential to impact the way we do things, the way we think about things, and the way we make decisions, from small to large.
AI and Everyday Digital Life
When it comes to finding gas, coffee, a quick lunch, or anything else on the go, most of us rely on our smartphones and digital assistants, and thus, are using AI. With a simple voice query, you can find out where "everything" is, right? Well, maybe not. That's because the AI is only ever going to be as good as the data it has access to, which may be limited to what can be found online. Fortunately for AI, there is no shortage of online data to aggregate, sort, filter, and display for users.
For professionals, these assistants can be an enormous help. They can help with calendaring, note taking, and playing the right music when the team needs to be pumped up. While this may not be such a great selling point for professionals, the more advanced uses of AI might be a lot more attractive.
AI Practice Support Services
Imagine being able to set up a system where you have your client fill out a form online, and the data from that form automatically gets imported into a client management system, which automatically creates a task for, and notifies, the assigned attorney to review the uploaded data and assign new tasks. Some of you might already have that, and other AI services working to help, while others might be picking your jaws up off the floors.
You know those annoying chat windows that pop up on other lawyers' websites? Well, often, those chats are operated by an AI that asks pre-screening questions (while towing the Turing test line) and allows you, or a staff member, to monitor that conversation and take over at any time.
With the new chatbots that are taking over, and other new AI practice support services that are coming down the pipeline, it will be interesting to see how the decision making process evolves in the upcoming age of robots having easy access to information.
Have an open position at your law firm? Post the job for free on Indeed, or search local candidate resumes.
Related Resources:
- What Should Small Firms Know About AI? (FindLaw's Technologist)
- How Expensive Is AI for Law Firms Really? (FindLaw's Technologist)
- Are Law Firms Embracing AI? Not So Much, Survey Concludes (FindLaw's Technologist)
FindLaw has an affiliate relationship with Indeed, earning a small amount of money each time someone uses Indeed's services via FindLaw. FindLaw receives no compensation in exchange for editorial coverage.