Assessment 3: NLP303 Natural Language Processing and Speech Recognition
Introduction
Background
The inevitable impact of digital transformation is set and bound to have huge significance for the legal industry. There are various ways in which Artificial Intelligence (AI) can dramatically change the way the legal industry operates since there are some micro-level functions of lawyers that are expected to be better assisted with AI. The use of automated services and systems that don't require human involvement has skyrocketed in Australia. Recent debates on whether AI's producing capabilities benefit lawyers or might have unfavourable long-term impacts have concluded that AI is essential to the legal sector due to various potential benefits and future implications. The legal sector might not yet be completely aware of AI's complete effect on all facets of professional activity, given that it is still relatively new to humans. The implication is that attorneys should begin incorporating AI into all facets of their professional roles in order to increase efficiency and automate repetitive operations that do not truly require human interaction. There are some aspects in relation to the legal profession where AI can make huge differences and change the operational landscape. For example, a recent study pointed out that there are some core and non-core functions of lawyers like legal research that can be better performed through the use of AI. The study also noted that AI is great for providing legal services since simple tasks like document review and briefings can automated through assisted technology. Such benefits of AI can not only reduce costs but also increase the efficiency of the entire legal industry.
Purpose
Considering the above background, the purpose of this essay is to explore how the integration of AI is necessary for transforming the entire Australian legal industry. In this process, the essay focuses on the impact of AI and automation on conducting legal research to understand how AI can assist lawyers with improved research and evidence gathering. Further, the essay focuses on the impact of AI on the overall landscape of legal service delivery since automation is expected to assist clients in gaining better insights into their legal matters rather than being dependent on their legal representative for updates and information. Legal technology tools are predicted to change the way legal services are delivered and how legal research is conducted in the legal sector and based on that this essay finally explores how AI can help increase the efficiency of the legal industry and whether the Australian legal sector is currently ready to accept AI integration.
Research Questions
? Whether the use of AI by lawyers can help clients obtain legal service delivery more efficiently?
? Whether AI integration benefit lawyers in conducting legal research more efficiently?
? Whether the Australian In-House Counsels well equipped to integrate the use of AI into the legal profession?
AI and Legal Profession: Implications for Legal Service Delivery
The transformation of the legal profession is being currently talked about by academicians, scholars and policy-makers since future policies are bound to consider the impact of AI integration on various aspects of the legal industry. An interesting factor has been noted by a study where the author stated that digital transformation and the use of AI will enable even non-lawyers to perform some non-core legal functions due to automation. To be more specific, the study concluded that legal outsourcing has become very common and most institutions to whom legal functions are outsourced to reduce cost and increase efficiency[ Ibid, p.1207. ]. These institutions or service providers use AI for multiple purposes like gathering information. For this reason, it can be expected that there will be a large number of legal process outsourcing companies that use thefinest and/or least expensive attorneys from countries other than the ones where the job is commissioned to supply electronically mediated legal solutions worldwide. For their legal needs, many major organisations will choose a managed-services model, which does not always include law firms or even attorneys, in an effort to provide higher-quality legal products at the most affordable cost. In this process, it is possible that new entities like IT firms offering document creation systems and artificially intelligent legal assistance systems will be able to meet society's legal service demands.
Since the transformation is for the entire legal industry, it is not sufficient for any research to just explore the implications for lawyers. It is also crucial to have a summary understanding of how AI is set to transform the operation of the courts and judicial authorities. Justice Kirby noted that even though computers and AI cannot make the final judgement, they do assist the judicial officers in using closed and opened datasets based on presented evidence to predict judgements as a reasonable person. Although it would be unethical for any court to directly apply AI-generated results, but most superior courts at the moment in Australia and the UK do not use computer-generated results for their work. Also, since the integration of AI is new, it is difficult and uncertain to predict the impact on court procedures. Therefore, it can be analysed that the changes brought about currently by AI integration and expected changes in the future should be gracefully accepted by the legal industry since the benefits are reasonably expected to outweigh the detriments. As for now, to continue and explore the use of AI, it is necessary to ensure that the concerned AI system is trained with the legal and judicial values so there is no gap left open that can lead to controversies with regard to the justice system.
Legal Research and Decision-making: What is the role of AI?
One of the non-core tasks that might benefit from AI integration for improved ease and result production is legal research. Legal research is a function that lawyers perform regularly to gather knowledge and explore information. According to a recent study, despite certain obstacles, artificial intelligence has a substantial impact on legal research since AI uses effective searchtechniques and keywords to assist in locating the right sources and legal precedents. Furthermore, AI makes it much simpler to do text analysis, document inspection, and outcome prediction. To elaborate further, legal research and AI have evolved to the extent that they are widespread among young lawyers and attorneys. However, an important limitation has been observed by another study which noted that the capacity of AI to generate and gather results automatically poses a risk of research duplication. The legal industry has yet to come up with strategies to deal with such an issue since AI systems are extremely dependent on information and dataset training. For this reason, it is important to avoid bias and discrimination to ensure the impartiality of the judicial system.
It means that there is an emergence of having AI-enhanced lawyers so that the functions of lawyers are easier to perform and that lawyers are able to keep up with the digital transformations. According to a study, increasing the professional skill capacity of lawyers is an emergent need in contemporary society that has become dependent on technological advancements. The impact and potential applications of AI-assisted legal research instruments, such as legal analytics, in legal research and the legal industry's present acceptance of these methods, have become indispensable. As a result, it is crucial to teach both aspiring and practising attorneys about AI tools. The legal field must comprehend and use these tools to improve its operations, as the adoption of these AI-assisted practices will significantly alter its processes. When it comes to legal research, one of the primary components is the discovery of information and gathering relevant evidence. The use of AI has the potential to assist discovery in a way that lawyers can use virtual assistants for the same. Such virtual assistants are basicallyAI programs and systems that can swiftly retrieve relevant information, and relevant legal precedents and also identify the portion of the judgements that are applicable to the given case.
According to a recent study done by the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration and UNSW Faculty of Law and Justice, AI can assist people find exactly what they are looking for in a document which not only makes everything transparent but also increases the capacity of lawyers to work with AI-driven products. The majority of legal research tools rely on natural language processing for querying and employ automation to assist researchers in locating and connecting to precedents relating to a section of a case they are reading. Prominent legal databases such as LexisNexis and Austlii have begun incorporating AI capabilities into their systems to streamline processes like document review and information retrieval. By answering a series of questions, users may determine how a law applies in a certain case. AustLII's Datalex platform makes it possible to write statutes in a format that is machine-consumable. Compared to reading legislation from start to finish, this method is probably quicker because it outputs the reasons why a certain clause applies or does not.
Implications for the Australian Legal Industry
Likewise, there are several changes that the Australian legal industry is going through at the moment and will be further experiencing during the transformation effectuated by the integration of AI for the purpose of legal functions. Due to the emergence of AI integration, the Australian Government has actively shown its intention to regulate the use and integration of AI for variouspublic and private uses. The purpose is to ensure that the legal, social and ethical implications of using AI are taken care of. Such a step from the Australian government is expected to govern AI integration in a manner where uniform regulations can be formulated as guiding principles. Those principles will consequently guide the internal policies of organisations, law firms, and other legal service providers resulting in greater and more efficient use of AI in the legal profession. In a recent study, the Australian government noted that the country's AI ethical principles serve as a basis for developing particular guidelines and legislation that each jurisdiction might adopt. In order to ensure authorised usage through established legislative and policy-level scope, it will aid in understanding the anticipated dangers and advantages of employing AI. Consequently, it is reasonable to argue that investigating AI's effects on the legal sector is crucial to realising the technology's value to the legal profession as well as any possible obstacles to its integration.
The Australian government should be praised for its active participation in analysing the legal profession since innovation and digital transformation have been reasonably predictable since the last decade. An inquiry done by the Law Society of NSW found that the consumers of legal services are seeking better value and convenience and this is why in-house lawyers and corporate law firms must be driven towards client-focused work while using legal technology. Since AI raises ethical and regulatory issues, it is essential for the Australian government to seek assistance from the Australian Law Reform Commission to support the digital transformation of the Australian legal industry. From such a report, it can be analysed that clients in contemporarysociety have increased expectations when they invest in obtaining services. They want better-streamlined processes, transparency and convenience. All these are provided by legal technology and automation. For this reason, the Australian government, along with the law firms and big corporate houses started investing towards training their in-house counsels so that they can acquire practice-related skills. There are several recommendations given by the Law Society of NSW including having a legal risk manager to monitor the risks and challenges posed by legal technology and AI integration. Increased competence among lawyers and counsels has a direct impact on the quality of legal services.
Now as far as Australian legal education and judicial authorities are concerned, it is reasonable to say that the use of AI is expected to grow and have a significant impact on the discipline of law. A study done at the University of NSW noted that more emphasis will be placed on using data analytics tools to evaluate pupils, forecast court judgements, and make pre- and post-conviction choices concerning criminal offenders. Expert systems that provide standardised legal advice and documentation are also anticipated to proliferate more widely, albeit there is less chance of substantial technical advancement in that area. Therefore, it means that the focus is primarily on leveraging the advantages and mitigating the drawbacks of emerging artificial intelligence technologies. To achieve this, we must comprehend their constraints, the underlying presumptions they make, and how they could potentially erode sound legal and judicial decision-making processes. The judicial decision in Wisconsin v Loomis[ Wisconsin v Loomis (2016) 881 NW 2d 749] from the Supreme Court of Wisconsin noted that data and technology-driven risk assessment can be helpful in determining sentences. Therefore, it can be said that in order to achieve efficiency in information sharing, document production, lawsuit management and settlement, and due diligence, those who must abide by the law should have affordable access to its requirements. In any case, the historically used methods will be replaced by positions in the emerging technology-enabled legal services industry if attorneys are taught new abilities, such as the capacity to help in creating such systems. While data-driven decision-making in criminal justice may appear like a verycontemporary method of risk assessment, it really offers to do away with subjective, perhaps biased decision-making.
From the above discussion, it can be seen that the Australian government has been actively trying to regulate AI integration and use so that negative implications and gaps can be identified and addressed at their inception. It is positive to see the Australian government trying to encourage various industries including the legal sector to incorporate technology in real practice so that an efficient technological tool like AI is used to its maximum potential. Starting from formulating uniform rules for AI use to providing ethical guidelines, the Australian government is currently focused on ensuring that AI integration for various private and public functions is done safely and responsibly.
Conclusion
To conclude, it is important to revisit the purpose of this research. First, there is sufficient evidence presented to claim that AI integration is beneficial for legal service delivery since client expectations nowadays have expanded. AI makes it possible to ensure transparency in legal service delivery. Lawyers can become more capable by increasing efficiency and speed in performing their functions. Second, legal research is one of the most important aspects of law practice which is influenced greatly through AI integration as retrieving and identifying relevant information can be automated. Finally, the active participation of the Australian government in regulating the use of AI has the effect of revolutionising the legal industry. This is possible due to the careful formulation of AI-related policies and guidelines to maintain ethics in the legal profession while using legal technology. It means that the Australian legal industry is currently equipped to deal with the transformation and is expected to develop more in the future. Hence, to summarise, AI integration in the Australian legal industry is set to benefit the lawyers, clients and judicial authorities with careful consideration of the risks and challenges.
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