Last week in Atlanta, the College of Law Practice Management's (COLPM) 2017 Futures Conference, "Running With the Machines," explored the current state of artificial intelligence in law practice -- and provided a glimpse into the future. We asked College Fellows Andy Daws, Susan Hackett, Patrick Lamb, Marc Lauritsen, Sharon Nelson, Mark Tamminga, Courtney Troutman, John Simek and Greg Siskind to share their perspectives and top takeaways. We are in the earliest stage of the implementation of this new class of tools. And while a number of use cases are apparent (e-disco, due diligence, research, advice bots), we have barely scratched the surface of how cognitive computing and learning machines will affect our professional lives. What is clear is that "artificial intelligence" is rapidly improving in capability and reach, sometimes spectacularly (translation services come to mind).

Given the nonstop, hyped-up headlines, you may worry about competing with a robot for your next job. Rather than fret, why not start investigating the ways artificial intelligence technology can give you an edge -- both in the job market (somebody needs to know this stuff) and in actually delivering legal services? Last year, "AI in legal grew by leaps and bounds," wrote Bob Ambrogi, in naming it one of 2016's top legal technology developments. Things have been moving so fast this year, a recent headline reporting on ILTACON 2017 asked, "Is Artificial No Longer Cutting Edge?" Almost daily it seems, there's another "AI-powered" product or "AI-driven" legal technology announcement. Most products are aimed at assisting with the repetitive tasks related to document review, contract analytics, billing review and legal research.