Fearful View of Lawyers Being Replaced by AI

Looking at the history of work, people were always in pursuit of outsourcing their labor to machines to contribute to a higher standard of living. This pursuit of minimizing repetitive and tiresome tasks for humans has continued today, especially with the introduction of AI.

Nowadays AI is evolving and getting us ready to outsource our intelligence to technology. This will make people start to debate whether this technology—just as machines took over some human jobs before—will replace people or remove them from the workplace. This view of the role of AI in the marketplace is wrong. It assumes that AI and humans have the same qualities and characteristics, which is not accurate. AI-based machines are fast, more accurate, and consistently rational, but they aren’t intuitive, emotional, innovative, or culturally sensitive.

Fast forward to the future with innovation being the main theme for legal tech companies. People began debating whether this view also applies to lawyers and machines might eventually replace lawyers. It is often neglected that the primary goal of legal tech is to support the legal industry with the use of technology and to help lawyers serve their clients effectively and proficiently, not to replace them.

AI should no longer be considered as an option that only applies in certain industries. It should not be viewed as a technology to replace lawyers but viewed as an essential tool for lawyers. With AI, lawyers can find, categorize, and review information they need quickly. AI and technology are the answer to many problems in our business today. It can be leveraged to deliver better outcomes in the marketplace and work to our advantage, not against us.