e-Discovery Team

Ralph Losey. Published on August 23, 2024.

Bloomberg surveyed lawyers earlier this year to find out how they were using generative AI. To no one’s surprise, and despite the bogeyman of AI hallucinating fake cases, Legal Research came out on top. This is shown in Bloomberg’s chart below. In this blog a ChatGPT is prompted to try to explain the survey based on the chart alone and do so with subtle humor. Its analysis was verified by me as accurate, but as to the comedy, well, you be the judge.

I’ve demonstrated that ChatGPT chart reading skills before in the Panel of Experts. What is new here is my attempt via prompts to make the AI explanation funny. My training leans heavily on the humor of sarcasm, which AI ‘almost’ gets. Of course, I tweaked and verified everything; exhausting work, really. Read on for AI humor and also to see how lawyers are using generative AI.

The survey is set out in Stephanie Pacheco excellent article, ANALYSIS: Legal Workers Use AI for Research, Despite Red Flags (Bloomberg, 4/4/24). The chart shown above summarizes the study, and was shared publicly, but you will need to subscribe to see the full report. Still, this detailed graph tells us a lot. So, thank you Mr. Mayor.

The Survey Unpacked with AI Sarcasm

The survey confirmed what most of us already suspected, that legal research is the top use, with drafting a close second. I doubt the use has changed much since Bloomberg made the survey in early 2024. One of my custom GPTs wrote the rest of this blog, including the snarky comments below in parentheses. I am trying to teach it sarcasm as a gateway to humor. Most people, myself included, do not think ChatGPT is funny yet, but that version 4.0 is better than 3.5, which was, for me a least, mainly funny because of its stupid mistakes. But then again, two UCLA psychologists working in Italy (University of Macerata) recently published a research paper purporting to show that baby ChatGPT3.5 is funnier than most humans! Gorenz D., Schwarz N., How funny is ChatGPT? A comparison of human- and A.I.-produced jokes (PLoS ONE, 7/3/234). Go figure.

That is my last scholarly cite in this article I promise. After this, almost all of the writing is by ChatGPT4o – omni. Remember, these are supposed to be funny comments, so please try not to take offense. Or if you must, blame the AI, not me. That’s the popular thing to do.

Panel of Experts Explains the Bloomberg Chart

• Legal Research: 57% (Because why think when AI can think for you?)
• Drafting/Templating Communication: 46% (Who hasn’t dreamed of AI handling their thankless email drudgery?)
• Drafting/Templating Legal Contracts: 26% (Finally, a solution to avoid actual lawyering!)
• Summarizing Legal Narratives: 24% (Because brevity is the soul of wit, or so AI believes.)
• Reviewing Legal Documents: 22% (Eye-strain relief brought to you by your AI overlords.)
• Negotiating/Redlining Contracts: 18% (Robots, saving us from negotiation-induced migraines.)
• e-Discovery: 18% (Digging through digital dumpsters, so you don’t have to.)
• Due Diligence: 13% (Making sure the i’s are dotted, with digital precision.)
• Reviewing Discovery: 11% (See e-Discovery, but with less enthusiasm.)
• Case Filings: 6% (Because some mundane tasks remain sacred.)
• Estate Planning: 6% (Planning for the inevitable with digital grace, and using AI to do it, as shown in this image.)

Legal Research as a Fan Favorite

Leading the pack, as usual, is legal research, championed by a whopping 57% of respondents. It seems even lawyers appreciate not having to wade through dusty tomes and endless databases when a sleek algorithm can do it in half the time, with double the caffeine efficiency. This AI-driven shortcut to legal enlightenment allows our dear attorneys to focus on what truly matters—crafting strategies and billing clients. After all, these new cases cited are true and correct, right? AI would not actually make stuff up, would it? Losey, Exclusive Report: New Appellate Court Opinions on Artificial Intelligence and Hallucinations (e-Discovery team 10/04/23) (another tongue-in-cheek report). But seriously folks, see: OMNI Version – ChatGPT4o – Retest of the Panel of AI Experts – Part Three (more than you ever wanted to know about AI hallucinations).

Drafting, Templating, and the Art of Avoidance

Why spend hours drafting when you can have an AI mimic your voice and possibly improve upon your dry legalese? Nearly half of our surveyed champions automate their correspondences, ensuring that every missive is as polished as their courtroom shoes. And let’s not overlook the 26% who let AI tackle contract drafting, because nothing says ‘trust’ quite like a machine handling your agreements.

Summarization and Document Review: AI’s Literary Digest

Nothing thrills a lawyer more than a good summary, unless it’s one they didn’t have to write themselves. AI’s knack for condensing verbose legal opinions into bite-sized pieces is akin to literary gold for the time-strapped practitioner. Meanwhile, document review remains a realm ripe for AI conquest, proving that even the most mind-numbing tasks can be outsourced to our uncomplaining digital underlings.

The Robotic Learned Hand in e-Discovery and Due Diligence

In the trenches of e-Discovery and due diligence, AI stands as a beacon of hope against the drudgery of data sifting. With 18% of respondents embracing AI in e-Discovery, it’s clear that searching for that needle in the haystack just got a high-tech magnet. As for due diligence, the 13% uptake might suggest some lingering human nostalgia, or perhaps just a healthy fear of letting robots handle everything. Hey, gotta bill for something while we still can.

Forecasting AI’s Legal Takeover

This year’s Bloomberg survey paints a clear picture: AI in legal work is not just a passing fad, but the start of a tidal wave, one which just might drown us all. Either that or make for some incredible surfing!

Conclusion

As generative AI reshapes the legal landscape, we lawyers find ourselves spectators (and, occasionally, operators) in a play where the scripts are increasingly written by algorithms. Embracing these tools isn’t just about staying relevant—it’s about leading the charge in a world where efficiency is king, and where our next legal assistant might just be a server farm.

Let me close with a rhyming riddle, cause why not. Maybe riddles will make next year’s list of top uses, right behind Ralph’s Panel of AI Experts for Lawyers, which, no doubt, will be sycophantic free too.

Riddle Me This:

I’m not a lawyer, yet I reside in the courts.
I’m neither judge nor jury, but I hold a report.
I sift through the facts, with no coffee in sight,
Drafting and summarizing deep into the night.
What am I?

Answer: Your friendly neighborhood AI, always ready to serve (up documents), never to judge!

Stay sharp, and remember, in the world of law and AI, the best assistant might just be the one that doesn’t need a lunch break.

Ralph Losey Copyright 2024 – All Rights Reserved

This entry was posted on Friday, August 23rd, 2024 at 11:57 am and is filed under AI Ethics, AI Instruction, Book, Lawyers Duties, Search, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.