Intent on driving automation throughout the business, DLA Piper has partnered with Canadian tech firm Kira Systems to launch an artificial intelligence tool for document review during M&A transactions. The move comes just three months after Kira Systems secured a similar deal with Big Four accountant Deloitte and follows a 200-person UK redundancy round by DLA Piper as part of an attempt to shift towards automation. 'We believe that this innovative technology will do for corporate transactional work what e-discovery has done for litigation,' said Jonathan Klein, chair of DLA Piper's US M&A practice. 'It will not only make due diligence faster and more efficient, but will mitigate risk throughout the process, all of which are important benefits for our clients and the firm.' Kira Systems has developed machine-learning software, which will be available for DLA Piper lawyers across the global firm, to search and analyse text in contracts.

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Robots are like dogs because, according to some experts, a badly-trained robot could end up misbehaving just like a badly-trained dog. This warning came at a meeting discussing the future of robot and human interactions, held in London this week. But the panel, who emphasised the importance of regulations controlling AI, agreed a doomsday situation in which robots take over is unlikely to happen soon. Robots are like dogs because, according to some experts, a badly-trained robot could end up misbehaving just like a badly-trained dog. Organised by the EPSRC UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems Network (UK-RAS Network), UK Robotics Week included a series of events across the country, aiming to get the public engaged with the developments and debate in and around robotics.

Drones in national parks are a safety hazard and nuisance to visitors and wildlife, said Jonathan Jarvis, the park service's director. With drones flying overhead, apps tracking our every move, and more personal data flowing into cyberspace every second, there is widespread concern about sensitive data and images ending up in the wrong hands. In response, states this year enacted dozens of laws intended to give people greater control over who has access to their private activity and information, and where and how it is collected, stored, shared and used. Many of the laws enacted this year focus on shielding the massive amounts of data that the government and private businesses are collecting -- everything from a Medicaid user's health information to information about a child's reading level. Many new laws are focused on restricting government's use of electronic surveillance.

There's been a lot of talk lately about the possibility of discrimination being built into the algorithms that determine our lives. In the past year, multiple publications have discussed what happens when algorithms are racist in a time when algorithms decide more and more of our lives. Just recently, we talked about judges using proprietary algorithms in sentencing, and how those algorithms themselves may judge people based on things like skin color. And just a few days ago, there was a fascinating NY Times article about inherent bias in artificial intelligence systems. I even went to a conference recently, where there was a whole discussion on the question of what do you do "if your algorithm is racist."

For warehouse workers and truck drivers, the future does not look rosy. But those of us with more white collar gigs don't have to panic yet, right? Well, maybe some of us do. Sorry, lawyers, we know you're already spinning from a lousy job market and tons of law school debt, but it looks like you're going to face competition from artificial intelligence sooner rather than later. The brainchild of London-born Stanford University student Joshua Browder, the artificial intelligence-driven chatbot has already gotten 160,000 people out of parking tickets.

Buyers and sellers on EBay use the site's automated dispute-resolution tool to settle 60 million claims every year. Now, some countries are deploying similar technology to let people negotiate divorces, landlord-tenant disputes, and other legal conflicts, without hiring lawyers or going to court. Couples in the Netherlands can use an online platform to negotiate divorce, custody, and child-support agreements. Similar tools are being rolled out in England and Canada. British Columbia is setting up an online Civil Resolution Tribunal this summer to handle condominium disputes; it will eventually process almost all small-claims cases in the province.

The doomsday scenario of killer robots taking over the world isn't going to happen. That's according to Google chairman Eric Schmidt, who says we should stop worrying about it and start focusing on the positives. He has said artificial intelligence (AI) will be developed for the benefit of humanity, and although doomsday scenarios should be considered, he is optimistic about the future. Artificial intelligence will let scientists solve some of the world's'hard problems.' 'The original Kodak camera was seen as destroying art,' Mr Schmidt said.

Plenty of media attention has been devoted to robots replacing lawyers. Conversely, some industry players claim that artificial intelligence (AI) is simply a buzzword used to sell software to law firms. "Are many AI-badged products just rule-based decision-making tools?" asks Alex Smith, platform innovation lead at LexisNexis UK. "What counts as AI?" AI in business has moved beyond process automation to include natural language processing and machine-learning, whereby computers are trained to interpret information and adjust their processes to user feedback. Rather than searching for keywords or strings of words, the software reads and understands information, so its findings and recommendations are based on contextual elements. Gerard Frith, chief executive of AI consultancy Matter, explains how AI adds value by modelling and reapplying expert knowledge in a fast, scalable way.