Is the law profession finally catching up with technology?
In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force that has permeated the daily operations of virtually every industry, and the legal profession is no exception. The application of AI in law has gained considerable attention, with notable successes but also critical setbacks. While some fear the implications of AI, it is crucial for the legal field to recognize the potential benefits and understand how to effectively adapt to technological advancements.
For instance, the first-ever AI-powered legal defense was set to take place in California on February 22, 2023,” but the “robot lawyer” idea was thwarted after the founder and CEO of the AI startup, DoNotPay, Joshua Browder, received threats from bar officials and possible jail time.
Surely the term ‘robot lawyer’ must have riled up a lot of lawyers, but Browder, who’d planned to have an AI-powered bot argue on behalf of a defendant in a case, said, “I think they’re missing the forest for the trees. Technology is advancing and courtroom rules are very outdated.”
Browder had developed a system that would allow people to use arguments in court generated by artificial intelligence. Despite the setback, he believes that AI could still play a role in legal defense and is becoming an invaluable tool for case evaluation, trial preparation, voir dire strategy, and jury selection. Don’t worry, Browder, we are a few steps ahead of you and plan to keep it legit!
Ignoring Technological Advances: Missing the Forest for the Trees
It’s not surprising that “robot lawyers” and applications of AI, in general, evoke fear in many people. Throughout human history, technology has rapidly advanced, while the basics of human psychology have stayed the same. People have reacted to almost every major technological innovation with fear and resistance; electricity was viewed as dark magic, and the speed of trains elicited concern that a person’s organs could fly out of their body while traveling. In some ways, those fears are quite reasonable. Without regulation (guardrails), electricity can be dangerous and trains can be fatal. However, any industry that did not take advantage of those technologies almost certainly led to obsolescence. The human tendency to fear change is a constant, but technology is advancing regardless of how we feel about it. Ignoring the inevitable does not change reality, it only changes how successfully you adapt to it.
ChatGPT is an impressive and revolutionary application of natural language processing technology, but it is important to keep in mind that it remains a tool. A powerful tool indeed, but one that can be easily misused without the application of human expertise. ChatGPT does its best to approximate that of human expertise but falls short of that benchmark and often misrepresents information, invents fictional sources, or blatantly plagiarizes material.
Out of curiosity, I recently asked ChatGPT to write an essay on an academic subject matter within my area of expertise. The basic template of the essay was a good starting point, but I was surprised at how unfamiliar I was with the information cited, given my doctoral training. It turned out my surprise was warranted. The authors ChatGPT had cited were either completely made up, or the authors themselves existed, but the article was completely made-up.
A similar issue made headlines recently after a lawyer used ChatGPT to prepare a court filing. Unfortunately for the lawyer who submitted the briefing on behalf of the plaintiff, the brief was riddled with inaccuracies and cited entirely fictional court cases. That was a fact that, unfortunately, only came to light when the defense team alerted the judge that they were unable to find the cases cited. This clearly demonstrates the crucial limitations of what artificial intelligence can do when left unchecked by human experts.
ChatGPT is only one application of AI. However, because ChatGPT, by design, is so accessible and simple to use, there is a misconception that wielding the power of AI requires little expertise. Failing to use AI in the legal industry would represent a serious setback that would be difficult to bounce back from, given the exponential rate at which these technologies are expanding. However, as the lawyer who filed an essentially fictional briefing had to learn the hard way, AI has the power to simplify and enhance a variety of tasks only when used effectively.
AI for Trial Preparation and Courtroom Strategy
When it comes to winning in the courtroom, the devil is in the details. Every decision, every word, every nuance can make all the difference.
Those details are hidden in a labyrinth of raw information that would be impossible to navigate with AI. At Jury Analyst, we have spent the past five years harnessing the valuable tools generated by the “machine intelligence trends.” While ChatGPT has often been the specific technology making headlines, machine intelligence is much broader than that. For instance,our work harnesses this technology through big data collection and analysis, which has yielded remarkable results, allowing us to make smarter decisions and meticulously evaluate, assist, and ultimately win more cases for our clients.
The existence of AI technology is shaping how the legal industry operates, but this isn’t just about technology. It’s about strategy. It’s about understanding how to use AI to your advantage, how to interpret the results, and how to apply those insights in real-world scenarios.
That’s why we’ve invested so much time and effort into building a team of experts – behavioral and data scientists – who understand how to get the most out of AI. They know how to ask the right questions, interpret the results, and apply those insights to real-world case issues.
By adopting this approach, we have been able to move beyond traditional jury focus group analysis methods, which rely solely on human intuition and experience, which can be time-consuming and prone to biases. Our company is revolutionizing this process by leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), sentiment analysis, facial recognition, and raw data digitization. These tools provide valuable insights to make informed decisions and ultimately help to select the most optimal jury and present your case in the most effective way possible.
Using AI in Dashboard Apps
Our company has developed an innovative dashboard app called Async Group, which streamlines the process of adding focus groups and conducting detailed surveys and questions related to the case. By utilizing AI, we can efficiently analyze responses, gather data, and visualize the information for easier comprehension. Thus enabling us to better understand the opinions and biases of potential jurors, resulting in our team’s ability to interact with the audience to optimize for trials or mediations of sentiment.
Digitization of Supplemental Juror Questionnaire
Traditionally, the “Supplemental Juror Questionnaire” is handled manually using handwritten records, making it difficult to analyze and extract valuable information. Our company has tackled this issue by using AI to extract and store all data digitally from these questionnaires. This groundbreaking approach not only saves time and effort but also allows for a more thorough analysis of potential jurors in a statistical and analytical way. This innovation gives us a competitive edge in the market and significantly improves the jury selection process.
Conclusion
Integrating AI in the legal field has sparked both excitement and apprehension. While there are valid concerns about the misuse and limitations of AI, it’s crucial to recognize that technology is advancing rapidly, and ignoring its potential would prove detrimental. The case of the AI-powered legal defense, though met with opposition, highlights the need for the legal field to adapt and embrace technological advancements.
Adapting to these advancements effectively requires adopting the right strategy for implementation. Our approach, incorporating AI, sentiment analysis, facial recognition, and data digitization into the jury analysis process, has proven to deliver significant advantages to our clients. It enables lawyers to navigate the intricate details of each case with greater precision and understand the nuances that can make all the difference in courtroom outcomes. By combining AI-driven insights with human expertise, legal teams can make more informed decisions, present more compelling arguments, and ultimately achieve better outcomes for their clients.