Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents one of the latest advances in legal technology. Rather than replacing attorneys and support staff, AI can help lawyers and other legal professionals do more to serve their clients with greater efficiency and less expense.
Teaching computers to learn
One significant advantage of employing AI is the ability of machines to learn tasks that previously required the time and effort of lawyers, according to a blog by SMI Aware, a social media evidence collection and preservation service. Likewise, AI enhances the ability of lawyers to extract pertinent case information by directly typing a query in a search field—or directing the machine to perform a given task.
Of course, before computers can perform these tasks, they must be “taught” to do so by humans. Connecting various concepts, such as liability, negligence, and fault, to one another must be programmed into the computer by attorneys who illustrate the connections. The more information is fed into a computer over time, the better the computer becomes at determining relevant terminology related to specific case topics.
The role of humans in AI eventually transitions to correcting mistakes. Ultimately, AI enables computers to correct their own errors through a deep learning process known as propagation.
Filtering and Limiting AI Results
Through AI, computers can process more data much quicker than any human. The downside to this is that the volume of data is much greater than any single human, and often multiple humans, can process usefully. Humans must “teach” computers to filter massive result returns into manageable numbers and categories that focus on areas most relevant to specific topics or cases.
Through human instruction, computers “learn” to search for functions such as contract review and analysis of due diligence. This filtering process within AI allows computers to detect subtle changes in tone in email messages and search for code words that are often used to disguise the true nature of a communication. Ultimately, AI enables computers to draft and prepare routine documents that previously required the efforts of support staff.
Using AI to Generate More Billable Hours
The days of attorneys and paralegals spending hours poring over stacks of client paperwork and thick legal volumes have long been a thing of the past. In the 21st century, law and technology are integral to nearly every area of legal practice, from e-discovery to class action case research. SMI Aware works with clients in utilizing legal tech, including AI. Attorneys spend less time attending to tedious but necessary tasks like drafting documents and more time generating billable hours, and, more importantly, serving their client’s legal needs.