On a typical day, lawyers would research cases, draft briefs, or advise clients. However, thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), robots are now able to do these complex tasks. The advancement of AI and ML is already taking over jobs that were until now reserved for professionals and people with expertise, such as lawyers. However, things may soon change. According to a report published in Social Science Research Network, researchers say they have found a way to predict summary judgment outcomes from the text of the parties' briefs. They have used linguistic analysis and ML techniques to do that.

AI is a hot buzzword right now, but with buzz always comes a whole host of misconceptions about a technology's capabilities. There's considerable confusion about what artificial intelligence can do and widespread misinformation about how it works, particularly in the area of managing legal contracts and if AI will replace lawyers. Onit recently hosted a webinar to debunk these common myths. Nick Whitehouse, General Manager of Onit's AI Center of Excellence, and Jean Yang, Vice President of Onit's AI Center of Excellence, dispelled common misconceptions about everything from will AI replace lawyers to who can benefit from AI. The goal is to help legal professionals decipher marketing-speak to determine what's genuinely AI and what's just software.

In May 1997, in a high-profile chess match held under tournament conditions, the reigning world champion, Garry Kasparov, took on Deep Blue, an IBM-developed computer, and lost. It was the first time that an artificial intelligence (AI) had defeated a world champion. The result received much coverage at the time and represented a triumph of late 20th century technology. The question of whether the practice of law exhibits an equivalent level of tactical dexterity to that of a chess match is not one to be answered here, and certainly not by a practising lawyer. But advances in AI, across many facets of life since the turn of the century, are undeniable.