In Wolters Kluwer GPO Presents series this February, we are looking at emerging technologies and debating their applications for our customers. The discussion leads me to some ideas on how big data, analytics, semantic technologies, expert systems, and wearable devices together with our main asset – our high valuable content – can be orchestrated to offer new services to lawyers.
Artificial Intelligence to crush and distill information
Expert systems can now be leveraged adopting semantic technologies, so natural languages can be better understood and elaborated. By reading all cases together with commentaries, articles and other influential documents from our authors – everything available in our repositories – an expert system can synthesize legal theories. Being impartial, it can at the same time create hypothesis for both the plaintiff and the defendant, allowing attorneys to preview the best likely argument from the opposing part.
Yet, factual information can be discovered efficiently, and similar cases can be evaluated to estimate the chances of success given a particular set of facts.
Creativity, common sense, sensitivity of humans will never be replaced by a machine, but expert systems can help with their consistency, memory, logic, persistency, availability, and longevity.
Wearable devices to augment reality in accessing information
Professionals in their daily work do not just sit behind a desk: mobile and wearable devices connected to expert systems allow access to desired information or service at any time and place. However, a smartphone or a smart watch alone does not work for lawyers in certain situations, e.g. when in front of a judge or interviewing a client. There is a need for one or more input devices and for a screen, better if with 3D for spatial movements and projection.
To display information, Google Glass or Atheer One Glass can work, but if lawyers would not feel comfortable with them, they can choose to wear them instead those very special contact lenses.
For providing input, the visual and audio recording taken from any device can be transmitted to the expert system to give the context where the lawyer is moving. Additional software can help to recognize whether the person speaking in front of the lawyer is lying or no, and to capture other emotional information.
To enter specific requests or to move around the data displayed on the screen, the lawyer can use the small swipe-pad on her or his smart watch or better a Leap Motion controller which can facilitate input with gestures for scrolling, swiping, rotating, grabbing, and even typing words on a virtual keyboard.
Lawyers need to be technology aware
Do lawyers have to become tech-savvy? No, but they already need to be aware of existing technology and to possess certain skills. Technology may be decisive in winning cases. Being familiar with social media, for example, means being able to gather information about people, places, events and things; yet, attorneys can get information from their clients’ smartphones to find out evidence or to protect their private data; with the proper equipment, now accessible to everyone, a layer can acquire 360 degrees panoramic photo evidence (like those in Google Maps “Street View”) where an incident happened, to be showed during the court debate.
With our valuable and trusted content accessed and elaborated by advanced technologies we can offer new services to lawyers and, similarly, to medical doctors and other professionals. Too futuristic? The choice is yours.
