How Does AI Interpret the Law?

paulsakalas — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 02:41:37 GMT

Current Revision posted to FAQ by paulsakalas on 12/12/2019 9:41:37 PM

AI is fueled by data. Thanks to breakthroughs in technologies like natural language processing, cognitive computing and machine learning, a computer is able to better “understand” that data and make decisions based on its analysis. Those capabilities are having a significant impact in law firms.

But it’s a bit of a misnomer to say that AI is capable of interpreting the law. Perhaps it’s better to say that artificial intelligence is simply helping lawyers interpret the language of the law.

What does that mean? Imagine a legal research path, using AI-enhanced search tools a lawyer can scour legal text with much, much greater speed than in decades prior. Thanks to data-driven capabilities, the search engine can provide suggestions on a proposed search query and reveal links and connections that could’ve been previously overlooked.

Legal analytics and AI can also extract precise judicial language to help lawyers craft their legal arguments. This technology can also be used to predict (with a relative degree of accuracy) the amount of a potential settlement award or the probability of a specific judge granting a particular motion.

All these insights allow an attorney to make a more informed legal strategy. So, while it isn’t interpreting the law directly, AI is changing the way legal professionals approach their work.

Tags: Legal Tech, Artificial Intelligence, AI, FAQ, Legal Analytics