V_Shtrum t1_ja8q5d3 wrote on February 27, 2023 at 5:57 PM

Reply to comment by PlaintiffSide in Existential angst and yolo thoughts & cancer parallel by banaca4

I think attorneys are much more likely to be augmented by AI than replaced in our working lifetimes. Even if the technology is there, lawyers enjoy privileges and professional protection that won't be granted to algorithms. Seems like a comparatively safe bet compared with management consulting or copywriting for example.

PlaintiffSide t1_ja8qg9w wrote on February 27, 2023 at 5:59 PM

I can imagine some practice areas being wiped out and attorneys being augmented by AI means many attorneys would be made obsolete—one attorney with a good AI would be more productive than one attorney overseeing a handful of associates.

V_Shtrum t1_ja8s4yi wrote on February 27, 2023 at 6:10 PM

>I can imagine some practice areas being wiped out

Don't know the specifics, but as a layman I can imagine a lot of people might get some DIY legal advice from an algorithm, may reduce the number of consultations to firms and reduce revenue.

>one attorney with a good AI would be more productive than one attorney overseeing a handful of associates.

Agreed, easy to forsee this, will be the same with software devs though most seem in denial about it.

However:

The legal profession is practical as well as intellectual: representing clients in court, seeing the whites of their eyes, communicating good and bad news, counseling clients, convincing a judge, literally twisting clients arms etc.
Lawyers enjoy legal protection not afforded to other professionals / AI. There's nothing stopping me using ChatGPT to code, but ChatGPT can't represent me in court.
The courts (etc) are very conservative and resistant to technological change.

Still think it's a safer bet then many other fields.