Robo-lawyer doom and gloom 'overcooked'

Despite robotics and artificial intelligence being labelled as threats to the profession, the head of digital legal services for a global firm has downplayed concerns. Speaking ahead of the Lawtech Summit, Tae Royle, head of digital legal services for Ashurst, said reports about the robot lawyer takeover have escalated unnecessarily. "The doom and gloom scenarios are a bit overcooked; the majority of the workforce will adapt rapidly and are getting on the front foot," he said. Mr Royle added that these fears are unsubstantiated at present, as the application of AI remains "very narrow". However, Mr Royle also said that opportunities for AI are "progressively widening, and in five years' time the use cases will be broader and the impacts will be very deep", though he noted there is no need for firms to panic over this, and instead they should properly prepare.