Will AI Eat Relativity?

Relativity relies on the availability of poorly-paid new law graduates to analyze documents provided in discovery in civil cases. What will be the effect of AI on Relativity and the document review industry?

With respect to health care, Bill Gates claims that AI will decimate the medical sector. Decimate is only 1 in 10; he’s talking about 8 in 10 losing their jobs. He also points out that the shift caused by AI is already happening.

Gates identifies three areas that will be exempt from AI. First he exempts his own profession, which is a blind spot most suffer from (it’s always, “it will affect someone else”). The second is the energy sector “because it’s too big.” Nonsense. This is just a matter of scale.

The final exempt field, according to Gates, is pure science, basic research. Studies that led to transparent wood, for example, will be safe from AI because AI lacks the creativity to imagine transparent lumber. AI would probably do well with, “is there any way to make wood transparent?” But coming up with the question in the first place is outside AI’s capabilities.

That brings us to Law. How will AI affect the practice of Law? We must start with Cicero, who taught us what lawyers do:

“Respondere is the issuing–usually in oral form–of an opinion on a particular case at the request of a layman, magistrate, judge or other iuriconsultus. free of charge, Cavere is the drafting (and advising on drafting) of wills, forms of contract and other transactions; Agere denotes a person acting in a trial or the advice given on his behalf by a jurist.”

Of these, only Agere will survive the AI tsunami. Remote trials will lead to holographic trials, but don’t be fooled–it will be while yet before robots defend clients in criminal trials. However, we may see automation of certain court proceedings.

Legal work not involving hearings will be eliminated by AI. That includes most of what lawyers do outside of court—including the review of discovery.

AI will eat Relativity. Relativity’s defense will be to incorporate AI in its program. Once that is accomplished, they won’t need document reviewers. All they will need is an appropriate large language model.