Or at least replace them with artificially intelligent computers:
Ross, the world’s first artificially intelligent attorney, has its first official law firm. Baker & Hostetler announced that they will be employing Ross for its bankruptcy practice, currently comprised of almost 50 lawyers.
Law firm Baker & Hostetler has announced that they are employing IBM’s AI Ross to handle their bankruptcy practice, which at the moment consists of nearly 50 lawyers. According to CEO and co-founder Andrew Arruda, other firms have also signed licenses with Ross, and they will also be making announcements shortly.
Ross, “the world’s first artificially intelligent attorney” built on IBM’s cognitive computer Watson, was designed to read and understand language, postulate hypotheses when asked questions, research, and then generate responses (along with references and citations) to back up its conclusions. Ross also learns from experience, gaining speed and knowledge the more you interact with it.
“You ask your questions in plain English, as you would a colleague, and ROSS then reads through the entire body of law and returns a cited answer and topical readings from legislation, case law and secondary sources to get you up-to-speed quickly,” the website says. “In addition, ROSS monitors the law around the clock to notify you of new court decisions that can affect your case.”
Laws are just rules. It should be a small matter to turn all those rules and strictures into code, allowing each summary of all prior precedents and arguments to be organized better and more completely than a single human could accomplish, for review by a judge.
It might also mean legislators would need to be computer engineers, with a strong ability to understand and produce elegant programming.
For too long we have watched as automation has cost us blue-collar jobs. Automating government, and getting rid of the politicians and lawyers is something I could really get behind. For a while, there would be an increase in embezzlement, ponzi schemes, cons, thefts, and other non-confrontational crime, as the politicians and lawyers sought out new employment consistent with their psychologies, but once they were all behind bars, the world would be a considerably better place.
[…] First, Kill All The Lawyers… […]
If only law-makers would use such a system as they craft new laws, and be pre-warned of adverse or far-reaching effects of same. (Which they would probably ignore, but whatever…)
It’s interesting that they are starting in bankruptcy, which is one of the few practices that doesn’t happen in court of law. Bankruptcy is handled in courts of equity, not law. Equity courts are allowed to set aside (some of) the law when it interferes with what is “fair.”
That makes bankruptcy a lot more squishy than something like breach of contract lawsuits.
AI attorneys I can get behind.
As a FiJA sympathizer I’m squeamish about the idea that this could eventually extend to juries, though. On the one hand, that appears to be what today’s courts want: mindless legal computers who will simply take the facts, compare it to the law as written, and regurgitate a verdict. In that sense, bringing in actual computers would be the more honest approach. On the other hand, I’d much prefer reformation that gives more respect to jurors.
“A just machine to make big decisions
Programmed by fellows with compassion and vision
We’ll be clean when their work is done”
Anonymous Conservative, your arguments seem to be suggesting that legal decisions are made based upon logic and reason. Did I read you correctly?