You cannot spend much time today before someone is talking about AI or Automation, and all the benefits it will bring. Indeed, I feel the same way. I am old enough to remember when similar talk was being had about the Internet, Emails and Smartphones, but too young to have used oil lamps I might add.
AI will truly alter each of the industries we work within and change the way our businesses operate, there is no doubt in this. However, we must deal with the state that AI is in today as much as we have to prepare and plan for the future.
Recently in the legal press we saw the story of Steven Schwartz, a personal injury lawyer in New York, who used ChatGPT to help prepare a court filing, only to find that the AI tool created a filing containing made up cases, rulings and quotes, all of which the AI assured him where valid and from reputable places. This is the state AI is in today, its good and I could probably write this article with it much faster, just not necessarily correctly or better.
Suffice to say, I am a believer. I think AI will benefit the legal profession the way that Email did and the larger UK property market in a way similar to the adoption of the Internet. The warning given to us by Mr Schwartz experience isn’t something we should use to shun the use of AI, but in fact to recognise it’s infancy and potential whilst relying on current methods to inform and run our businesses. Another article in the Economist this month (here) made a very similar point, that this wasn’t as much an issue with the use of AI, but with the person using it not having the right approach to checking and validating its output.
Despite the current furore and the constant noise from the AI Tech providers, there is still a significant journey ahead before the information generated by AI can be fully trusted and the appropriate regulatory frameworks can be established and implemented. The technology is advancing rapidly, but it is not yet at a stage where we can rely on it without thorough scrutiny and validation.
If we don’t exercise a little caution and due diligence, we could end up adopting the wrong rule set for our industries, which could either stifle the potential benefits of AI or lead us to depend on information and systems that have not been rigorously tested and verified. This premature reliance could result in flawed decision-making processes, inefficiencies, and even legal and ethical issues that could have been avoided with a more measured approach. Therefore, it is crucial to balance enthusiasm for AI's potential with a careful and methodical assessment of its current capabilities and limitations.
I would love to know what you think too, much as the increasing use of AI is inevitable are you actively using it now?
