Will Lawyers be Replaced by AI?

In light of Space X founder, Elon Musk, and his recent appearance beside Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak , one ought to discuss (and reiterate) what exactly our future could look like with the current advancements of Artificial Intelligence.

Following the discussion on Elon Musk and Rishi Sunak Meet in regards to AI – Youtube, we can evidently see the fact that we have seen a number of AI breakthroughs as of this year. From the capabilities of ChatGPT being able to write essays with a single click; deep fake technologies having the capability of imitating anyone it chooses to; and robots being able to watch a game of American football (see Humanoid Robots Watching a Game of Football – Youtube for reference) whilst being able to hold a valid citizenship, it is only a matter of time humans will be replaced by AI in a workforce.

It was highlighted in Musk’s discussion with Sunak that we will eventually see AI having the capability and knowledge that ‘far exceeds human intelligence’. Now, applying this to the legal profession, it has indeed been discussed (and arguably feared) that lawyers will be replaced by AI.

One could argue that bringing aspects of AI into the legal profession would be hugely beneficial in areas such as enabling AI to execute time-constrained tasks such as document drafting (while limiting the capabilities the AI has by having the presence of a practicing lawyer). In addition to this, lawyers who have gone through years of studying and training in order to qualify won’t have the burden of drafting a 100-page document that will only be looked at twice and stored in a drawer for safe-keeping.

Juxtaposing this, it could be counter-argued by the fact that AI has the capability of access all publicised legal issues, cases, and facts that will only feed it. So, making law more accessible to students as well as the public is hugely beneficial; but, one could fear a greater implication on the workforce.

Following on from this idea, it was recently published to LinkedIn News by Sam Shead on behalf of a recent article by Ryan Browne for the CNBC in regards to An AI has just Negotiated a Contract without any Human Interaction – CNBC by Ryan Browne discussing the fact that an AI has just been able to negotiate a contract with no human interaction being needed.

Could this be the start to the legal profession being taken over by AI?

How will major AI bodies regulate the workforce if it is composed of robots, and how will the rest of the human species, who have not founded a major AI organisation, be able to earn a living?

AI is Coming for Lawyers, Again- New York Times by Steve Lohr

The Top 10 Roles AI is Most Likely to Take Over – Business Insider by Aaron Mok and Jacob Zinkula