Let’s discuss some of the artificial intelligence benefits to the legal profession and the society at large. From SIRI to self-driving cars, artificial intelligence (AI) is progressing rapidly. While science fiction often portrays AI as robots with human-like characteristics, AI can encompass anything from Google’s search algorithms to autonomous weapons.

The legal industry and profession are on the cusp of a revolution in the practice of law led by the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) computers – in particular by in-house lawyers.
Recent advances in the field of artificial intelligence have revived longstanding debates about the interaction between humans and technology. Nevertheless, we all realize there is a need for some form of AI in whatever we do. Where to draw the line is another issue.

The benefits of AI are numerous. Let’s explore some of the benefits:

1. 24/7 Availability: – Machines don’t require frequent breaks and refreshments as like human beings. Using such machines, we can also expect the same kind of results irrespective of timings, season and etc., those we can’t expect from human beings.

2. Day to Day Application: – In our daily needs, a smartphone also becomes the 4th necessity for the human along with clothing, food & shelter. If you are using a smartphone, it indirectly means that you are enjoying AI by knowingly or unknowingly.
We have our lady Siri for iOS devices or Cortana for Windows devices to help us out. We also prefer the help from GPS for the long drives and trips.
A smartphone is one of the apt everyday examples of how we utilize the power of AI to reduce the barriers in a day to day life.

3. Digital Assistance: – Highly advanced organizations already implemented machines on behalf of humans to interact with their customers by using ‘avatars’. It is the digital assistants or replicas which will help to reduce the need for human resources.

4. Handling Repetitive Jobs: – Repeated jobs are tedious in nature. Those kinds of jobs can be easily handled with the help of AI algorithms. These kinds of job don’t require much intelligence in between the process.

5. Reduction of Error: – The advantage of using Artificial Intelligence is, it helps us for error reduction and increasing the chance of reaching higher accuracy with a greater degree of precision.
Indeed, the future is now and the benefits of AI in a legal department are many. AI has arrived in terms of assisting lawyers to do things faster, better, and cheaper.

AI is currently touching many in-house workflows – legal research, contract development and many others to come – forever disrupting the legal market.

The existing technology may be limited for now, but the possibilities are intriguing and the availability, quality, and price will all soon come together in products that are just too useful for in-house legal departments to resist.

REFERENCES
1. “Robots Will Take Jobs, but Not as Fast as Some Fear, New Report Says,” The New York Times, posted January 12, 2017 (Steve Lohr).
2. “Rise of the Machine: Artificial Intelligence in the Practice of Law,” ABA Litigation News, Winter 2017, Vol. 42 No. 2 (Daniel Wittenberg), page 27 (human involvement is still required to interpret data, render legal advice, and fulfill ethical obligations).
3. “Why You Should Want a Lawyer (and Not a Robot),” Best Hooper website, visited February 19, 2017 (Matthew Francke).