AI & Law: Compilation Landscape Part 1

Lance Eliot

Nov 23, 2020·15 min read

by Dr. Lance B. Eliot

For a free podcast of this article, visit this link https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website or find our AI & Law podcast series on Spotify, iTunes, iHeartRadio, plus on other audio services. For the latest trends about AI & Law, visit our website www.ai-law.legal

Key briefing points about this article:

This is a compilation of the first set of 20 articles posted in this AI & Law series (“Part 1”)
Each of the twenty articles is standalone (no need to read them in any specific sequence)
They are listed below in relatively random order, without any denoted numbering per se
Links to each article are provided, plus a link to the respective podcast is included
Briefing points per each article proffer a quick summary

Introduction

You are about to embark upon a journey into the exciting and everchanging world of AI & Law.

The combination of AI and the law will undoubtedly have tremendous impacts on all aspects of legal matters, including the practice of law, the adjudication process, our approach to justice, the courts, judges, lawyers, the training of lawyers, methods of licensing, certification for attorneys, etc. Those changes will intertwine into how society perceives and makes use of legal services and abides by legal regulations. In that sense, the impacts of AI and the law will be far more than some narrow ripple within the legal field and will instead be felt across all areas of life and society.

This is a compilation of the first 20 articles that are contained in this ongoing AI & Law series, and they are considered as being the entirety of Part 1 of the further sets to come. Indeed, after the next set of twenty articles have been posted, a second compilation will be generated and then posted, and so on, continuing in successive sets of compiled articles accordingly.

Shown herein for each article is the article title, key briefing points about the article, a link to the full article, an estimated reading time (they are each within the range of about 5 to 10 minutes of reading time, making them an efficient read), a link to the podcast of the article is indicated, estimated listening time is shown (ranging typically from about 7 minutes to 12 minutes in length, readily heard while on-the-go), and a link is given to a respective source that provides even deeper details on the subject being discussed.

There is no need to try and read or listen to the pieces in any particular sequence since they are all considered “standalone” and can be experienced in whatever order so preferred. They are listed in a somewhat relative random order below and purposely unnumbered to further showcase that they are not in any specific sequence.

The audio podcasts are generally a slimmed-down version of the written article, thus for the full experience, it is prudent to read the article, though nonetheless the audio podcasts are aptly culled and contain the crux of the written versions. Of course, you can listen to the podcast and opt to not read the article, yet still, come away with the mainstay elements entailed. One added facet that the podcasts do inherently contain is the semblance of vocal annotation and connotations that the spoken word can convey.

You’ll be perhaps smitten to know that even this herein compilation has a podcast, providing an easy-listening recap of the recaps, thus, you might consider taking a listen to that podcast too.

Finally, for those of you interested in a more extensive and decidedly instructive indication about the entire field of AI & Law, focusing in detail on the full gamut of the history, present, and future of AI and Legal Reasoning, consider reading my popular book: https://www.amazon.com/Legal-Reasoning-Essentials-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1734601655/

PART 1: Compilation Landscape of AI & Law

_______________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

_______________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Autonomous Levels of AI Legal Reasoning

Key briefing points about this article:

The overwhelming media portrayal about AI is that all AI is presumptively the same (it is not)
There are various Levels of Autonomy (LoA) associated with AI, proffering increasing capacities
A new approach to LoA for AI-based Legal Reasoning systems has been gaining attention
AI Legal Reasoning (AILR) is ranked into seven distinct categories of autonomous capability
This provides a handy means to compare AI & Law products and LegalTech offerings

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-autonomous-levels-of-ai-legal-reasoning-eb2b073554b

Reading time: 6 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-autonomous-levels-of-ai-legal-reasoning

Audio length: 7:59 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3081-1819

_____________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

______________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Pitfalls Of Axiomatic Logic

Key briefing points about this article:

Some believe that we ought to be able to turn the law into a set of axiomatic logic
Doing so would presumably make the law easily computerized and become widely accessible
Logic-based law could theoretically enable computational legality determinations
Ongoing attempts at using AI in this quest for a pure logic approach are underway
Complexity ensues and there are pitfalls aplenty that still are to be resolved

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-pitfalls-of-axiomatic-logic-fc82ff06bf09

Reading time: 8 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-pure-logic

Audio length: 9:48 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://www.amazon.com/Legal-Reasoning-Essentials-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1734601655/

________________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

________________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Dualism Of Law And Morality In AI Agency

Key briefing points about this article:

The law has a close cousin, morality, for which there is at times agreement and sometimes not
Society has wrestled with the dualism of the law and morality for millennia
Recent advances in AI have led to attempts at embedding AI-enabled moral agents into software
Likewise, there is a need to embed AI-enabled law-oriented agents into software
Inevitably these two types of AI agencies will clash and the question of resolution is still open

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-dualism-of-law-and-morality-in-ai-agency-ba3126143a41

Reading time: 7 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-dualism-of-law-and-morality

Audio length: 8:49 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3081-1819

________________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

________________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Tech-Hype Curves

Key briefing points about this article:

Tech-Hype curves showcase which tech is being over-hyped and which tech is settling in
Each year the Gartner Group releases iterations of their famous Tech-Hype curves
Recent AI & Law advances were categorized by Gartner’s latest LegalTech hype curve
Upcoming are legal chatbots, third-party risk management, AI in legal practices, etc.
But some AI & Law tech efforts are predicted as doomed, others are on verge of a reboot

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-tech-hype-curves-2126f934fc4d

Reading time: 9 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-tech-hype-curves

Audio length: 12:57 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://www.amazon.com/Legal-Reasoning-Essentials-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1734601655/

________________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

________________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Principles Of Justice And AI

Key briefing points about this article:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will undoubtedly continue to be integrated into the practice of law
Some suggest this will undercut a semblance of justice, while others say it will bolster justice
A sensible place to start such a discussion involves defining justice (using key precepts)
AI legal reasoning systems can apply to each of the defined seven principles of justice
Ascertaining the ultimate outcome of applying AI will be up to how we choose to proceed

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-principles-of-justice-and-ai-a52939f4e7fd

Reading time: 7 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-principles-of-justice-and-ai

Audio length: 7:38 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3081-1819

_______________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

_______________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Legal Argumentation

Key briefing points about this article:

One might boldly suggest that humans are essentially biologically-based arguing machines
Besides our general propensity to argue, argumentation in the law is a paramount skill
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to increasingly be utilized for legal argumentation purposes
There are four primary ways that AI-enabled legal reasoning will be used in argumentation
The gradual expansion of AI in the law will serve to powerfully enhance legal argumentation

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-legal-argumentation-c2d536272a54

Reading time: 7 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-legal-argumentation

Audio length: 9:11 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3081-1819

_______________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

_______________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Legal Deserts

Key briefing points about this article:

A rising consideration in the legal profession has to do with qualms about legal deserts
Legal deserts are geographic areas that have a dearth of available attorneys
The public in legal deserts are potentially unable or unaware of exercising their rights
Advent of remote access and the lure of local opportunities might aid in this matter
In addition, the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can play a significant role

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-legal-deserts-53846d2ea7d

Reading time: 7 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-legal-deserts

Audio length: 8:36 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://www.amazon.com/Legal-Reasoning-Essentials-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1734601655/

________________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

________________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Legal Judgment Prediction

Key briefing points about this article:

Lawyers are continually having to try and predict what will happen in a legal case
Legal Judgment Prediction (LJP) involves devising computer models for making such predictions
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is aiming to boost the predictive capabilities of LJP
There are advantages and also downsides to using AI-powered LJP predictions
If AI LJP becomes superbly predictive it could have a dramatic judicial impact

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-legal-judgment-prediction-56bf0b331986

Reading time: 7 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-legal-judgment-prediction

Audio length: 8:53 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3081-1819

_______________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

_______________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Legal Micro-Directives

Key briefing points about this article:

Legal scholars have proposed that we might inevitably make use of legal micro-directives
A legal micro-directive is a legal rule that goes beyond today’s limited paper-based realm
Envision a legal rule that is computer-based and able to be made available when needed
In addition, ramp-up the computer-enablement by adding Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the mix
This bodes for an era in which the law is smartly conveyed in real-time and decidedly on-point

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-legal-micro-directives-d94efe6527c7

Reading time: 8 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-legal-micro-directives

Audio length: 9:32 minutes listening

Deep dive: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3081-1819

_________________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

_________________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Legal Singularity

Key briefing points about this article:

A notable theory in AI is that someday there will be The Singularity (i.e., AI becomes sentient)
No one can say for sure that this crossover into sentience will happen, nor when it might
Some assert that the field of law will have its own AI moment known as the Legal Singularity
It is useful to consider the ramifications of Legal Singularity to the law, the legal profession, etc.
A leading and controversial hypothesis is that the law would no longer have any uncertainty

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-legal-singularity-37385d8ef3f9

Reading time: 8 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-legal-singularity

Audio length: 9:52 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3081-1819

_______________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

_______________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Open Court Records And AI

Key briefing points about this article:

There are strident calls for greater open access to court records
Doing so will provide vital data needed for holistic policy analyses of justice
Another important use would aid in bolstering the advent of AI in the law
AI that utilizes Machine Learning requires extensive data to be suitably trained
Via plentiful access to court data the efforts to devise AI Legal Reasoning would be aided

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-open-court-records-and-ai-f93fb856b504

Reading time: 6 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-open-court-records-and-ai

Audio length: 8:12 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://www.amazon.com/Legal-Reasoning-Essentials-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1734601655/

________________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

________________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: About OpenAI’s GPT-3

Key briefing points about this article:

GPT-3 is an AI-based software tool proffered by the for-profit firm OpenAI
Acts like a souped-up “autocomplete” taking seed text and producing output text
Was computationally trained via scrapping data across the Internet
Legal profession applicability such as able to auto-generate contracts
Potential legal liability issues regarding auto-generating medical advice, etc.

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-about-openais-gpt-3-d0a86f15e2f8

Reading time: 10 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-about-openais-gpt-3

Audio length: 10:37 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://www.amazon.com/Legal-Reasoning-Essentials-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1734601655/

_______________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

_______________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Product Ideas For Startups In LegalTech

Key briefing points about this article:

This is a continuation of an earlier article about the twenty key factors for a LegalTech startup
In this piece, the focus is on two of the foundational factors: (1) the problem, (2) the solution
If a LegalTech founder cannot clearly state the problem and proposed solution things will falter
An example used herein discusses a startup proposing a contract life cycle management system
Use these insights to ensure that your LegalTech startup has sharply devised its vision

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-product-ideas-for-startups-in-legaltech-d395e30582d9

Reading time: 8 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-product-ideas-for-legaltech-startups

Audio length: 9:24 listening time

Deep dive: https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Startup-Pitch-Competition/dp/0692793933/

_________________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

_________________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Reengineering Those Outmoded Legal Ways

Key briefing points about this article:

An oft saying in the tech field is that you should stridently avoid paving the cow paths
This catchy phrase asserts that you must do reengineering before adopting new technologies
This matters because many of today’s legal ways in the courts and in law firms are outmoded
Meanwhile, new tech such as AI is merely being plunked on top of those “as is” processes
Hoped-for gains and value from AI-based LegalTech must be accompanied by reengineering

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-reengineering-those-outmoded-legal-ways-9062b44aad84

Reading time: 6 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-reengineering-outmoded-legal-ways

Audio length: 7:03 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://www.amazon.com/Legal-Reasoning-Essentials-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1734601655/

_________________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

_________________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Robo-Lawyer Hyperbole Unmasked

Key briefing points about this article:

The “robo-lawyer” phrase is pervasive and a stand-in for robot-like AI Legal Reasoning
Unfortunately, the phraseology tends to be mainly hyperbole and overinflates expectations
It will be hard to mitigate the catchphrase since it has innate stickiness and a flavorful allure
One proposed replacement would be to instead refer to levels of autonomy of AI in the law
Akin to levels associated with self-driving cars, the new phrasing is catchy too and more apt

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-robo-lawyer-hyperbole-unmasked-206878516887

Reading time: 6 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-robo-lawyer-hyperbole-unmasked

Audio length: 6:59 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://www.amazon.com/Legal-Reasoning-Essentials-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1734601655/

_________________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

_________________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Guidelines For Doing A Startup In LegalTech

Key briefing points about this article:

Many attorneys harbor a dream to do a startup business based on a LegalTech idea they have
An entrepreneurial-minded lawyer needs to think ahead and prepare for the rough journey
The good news is that the VC/PE funding for LegalTech startups still seems to be doing well
The “bad news” is that there are lots of LegalTech flops and failures, so be forewarned
Abide by the included list of 20 key factors for your startup and you’ll have a better chance

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-guidelines-for-doing-a-startup-in-legaltech-859e5f057200

Reading time: 7 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-guidelines-for-doing-a-startup-in-legaltech

Audio length: 9:25 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Startup-Pitch-Competition/dp/0692793933/

_______________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

_______________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: The Next Era Of The Law

Key briefing points about this article:

American history and American law are joined at the hip and are worth jointly studying
Legal scholars suggest that there have been three major eras of the law in the U.S.
The three eras are known as (1) Age of discovery, (2) Age of faith, and (3) Age of Anxiety
Questions arise as to what the next and thus fourth era will be
Among the hypothesized next eras is the possibility of AI in the law as a key ingredient

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-the-next-era-of-the-law-ffe9785a0ce2

Reading time: 6 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-the-next-era-of-the-law

Audio length: 7:10 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3081-1819

_______________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

_______________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: The Coming Multi-Tiered Practice of Law

Key briefing points about this article:

Currently, the practice of law is tightly controlled and there is essentially just one tier
Some argue that we need a second tier consisting of non-lawyers certified to also do the law
Acrimonious debates covering the benefits versus risks of a two-tiered approach are plentiful
Coming down the road will be the potential of a third-tier consisting of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Questions abound about the tiers and the (shocking) chance of collapsing back into one tier

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-the-coming-multi-tiered-practice-of-law-d228a52163b3

Reading time: 7 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-three-tiers-of-law

Audio length: 8:01 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://www.amazon.com/Legal-Reasoning-Essentials-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1734601655/

_________________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

_________________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: The Turing Test

Key briefing points about this article:

There isn’t any AI yet today that is sentient and nor reaches the level of full human intelligence
Nonetheless, there might someday be such vaunted AI and we’ll need to know that it exists
Within the AI field, there is a type of famous test for this known as the Turing Test
It makes sense to recast the Turing Test into the field of law as it relates to AI and the law
Once there is AI-enabled autonomous legal reasoning we’ll want to validate its capabilities

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-the-turing-test-7bf7387298c1

Reading time: 8 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-turing-test

Audio length: 9:18 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3081-1819

________________________________________________________

AI & Law Articles

Part 1

________________________________________________________

Article Title — AI & Law: Burgeoning Laws And Lawyers

Key briefing points about this article:

A recent study estimated how many laws there are today and growth rates over time
The research results offer vital food-for-thought about the future of the law
Thinking outside-the-box, ponder the number of lawyers in a past, present, and future sense
An additional twist for the future will be the advent of AI-enabled legal reasoning systems
Advances in AI and the law might impact the number of laws and the number of lawyers

Article link: https://lance-eliot.medium.com/ai-law-burgeoning-laws-and-lawyers-6853680f8885

Reading time: 10 minutes read

Podcast link: https://ai-law.libsyn.com/website/ai-law-growth-in-laws

Audio length: 10:14 minutes listening time

Deep dive: https://www.amazon.com/Legal-Reasoning-Essentials-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1734601655/

____________________________________________________________