legislatures / government / legal

Bravely predicting the future of legal work on the Internet’s 30th birthday. [Brown]

On 03/26/2019, in 21st century, future, ideas, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, society, by Daniel Christian

Bravely predicting the future of legal work on the Internet’s 30th birthday. — from insights.halebury.com by Liam Brown

Also see:
ElevateNext 2020 Vision Series: Susan Hackett Interview — from ElevateNext

Excerpt:

Q: If the current you could give advice to the future you about anything (doesn’t have to be law-related), what would it be?

Trust your creative brain; it won’t be wasted in the legal profession unless you allow it to be. You’ll have to work harder, take less money, and put up with lots of cynicism to successfully unleash your creativity in a world that wants you to conform your work and your life to the way legal has always been done. But if you’re persistent, you’ll not only succeed, but enjoy the ride. The profession of 1900 or 2000 doesn’t get to dictate what you as a lawyer will do to make your living in 2020 or 2030; it doesn’t get to create any boundaries that you can’t choose to break. And only by thinking outside of the box will you find the most successful path forward to create the profession you want to be in, rather than the one you joined.

The moral issue here [Furlong]

On 03/23/2019, in Canada, ethics, hearts -- matters of the heart, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, morals/values, by Daniel Christian

The moral issue here — from law21.ca by Jordan Furlong

Excerpt:

“I’m not worried about the moral issue here,” said Gordon Caplan, the co-chair of AmLaw 100 law firm Wilkie Farr, according to transcripts of wiretaps in the college admission scandal that you’re already starting to forget about. Mr. Caplan was concerned that if his daughter “was caught …she’d be finished,” and that her faked ACT score should not be set “too high” and therefore not be credible. Beyond that, all we know from the transcripts about Mr. Caplan’s ethical qualms is that “to be honest, it feels a little weird. But.”

That’s the line that stays with me, right through the “But” at the end. I want to tell you why, and I especially want to tell you if you’re a law student or a new lawyer, because it is extraordinarily important that you understand what’s going on here.

…

So why does any of this matter to lawyers, especially to young lawyers? Because of that one line I quoted.

“I mean this is, to be honest, it feels a little weird. But.”

Do you recognize that sound? That’s the sound of a person’s conscience, a lawyer’s conscience, struggling to make its voice heard.

This one apparently can’t muster much more than a twinge of doubt, a feeling of discomfort, a nagging sense of this isn’t right and I shouldn’t be doing it. It lasts for only a second, though, because the next word fatally undermines it. But. Yeah, I know, at some fundamental level, this is wrong. But.

It doesn’t matter what rationalization or justification follows the But, because at this point, it’s all over. The battle has been abandoned. If the next word out of his mouth had been So or Therefore, Mr. Caplan’s life would have gone in a very different direction.

ABA TECHSHOW 2019 is in the books, and the reviews are in [techshow.com]

On 03/20/2019, in law schools, legislatures / government / legal, productivity / tips and tricks, tools, by Daniel Christian

ABA TECHSHOW 2019 is in the books, and the reviews are in — from techshow.com

Excerpt:

ABA TECHSHOW 2019 wrapped up on Saturday, March 2, with the now-traditional 60 Tips in 60 Minutes presented by ABA TECHSHOW Co-Chairs Lincoln Mead and John Simek, and Co-Vice-Chairs Heidi Alexander and Catherine Sanders Reach.
…
It would be difficult to say it any better than legal tech blogger and the host of the Start-Up Alley pitch competition, Bob Ambrogi, who opined that “(a)fter 33 years, the ABA TECHSHOW remains relevant and essential.” Bob’s reflections on ABA TECHSHOW, including that it struck the right balance of programs and vendors, and offered a range of educational sessions from basic to innovative, were echoed many times in conversation with attendees, from long-time veterans to first-timers.

Yes, it was cold in Chicago – to some of us from naturally warmer climes, bitterly cold – but the buzz of excitement from the 15 start-ups that competed in Wednesday night’s Start-Up Alley competition, the over 40 vendors brand new to TECHSHOW, and the stellar national faculty more than made up for that. Nicole Black, technology evangelist of MyCase, captured the exciting vibe in her blog.

Dan Lear in a reflective post speculated whether it is time to take the “tech” out of TECHSHOW considering growing technology knowledge. Mike Whelan suggested a more interactive, personalized experience might work better. An ABA TECHSHOW highlight was keynote speaker Betsy Ziegler, CEO of the technology and innovation incubator 1871, who enthralled and captivated the audience shocking them with the fact that humans now have shorter attention spans than goldfish.

Looking for more takeaways? Check this summary from Sensei Enterprises, or this one from Jeff Richardson, aka iPhoneJ.D.. or TECHSHOW take-aways from Attorney at Work. The ABA Journal extensively covered ABA TECHSHOW, as did the Legal Talk Network and Above the Law.

A Chinese subway is experimenting with facial recognition to pay for fares — from theverge.com by Shannon Liao

Excerpt:

Scanning your face on a screen to get into the subway might not be that far off in the future. In China’s tech capital, Shenzhen, a local subway operator is testing facial recognition subway access, powered by a 5G network, as spotted by the South China Morning Post.

The trial is limited to a single station thus far, and it’s not immediately clear how this will work for twins or lookalikes. People entering the station can scan their faces on the screen where they would normally have tapped their phones or subway cards. Their fare then gets automatically deducted from their linked accounts. They will need to have registered their facial data beforehand and linked a payment method to their subway account.

From DSC:
I don’t want this type of thing here in the United States. But…now what do I do? What about you? What can we do? What paths are open to us to stop this?

I would argue that the new, developing, technological “Wild Wests” in many societies throughout the globe could be dangerous to our futures. Why? Because the pace of change has changed. And these new Wild Wests now have emerging, powerful, ever-more invasive (i.e., privacy-stealing) technologies to deal with — the likes of which the world has never seen or encountered before. With this new, rapid pace of change, societies aren’t able to keep up.

And who is going to use the data? Governments? Large tech companies? Other?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m generally pro-technology. But this new pace of change could wreak havoc on us. We need time to weigh in on these emerging techs.

Addendum on 3/20/19:

Chinese Facial Recognition Database Exposes 2.5 Million People — from futurumresearch.com by Shelly Kramer
Excerpt:
An artificial intelligence company operating a facial recognition system in China recently left its database exposed online, leaving the personal information of some 2.5 million Chinese citizens vulnerable. Considering how much the Chinese government relies on facial recognition technology, this is a big deal—for both the Chinese government and Chinese citizens.

713% growth: Legal tech set an investment record in 2018

On 03/15/2019, in 21st century, emerging technologies, innovation, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, by Daniel Christian

713% growth: Legal tech set an investment record in 2018 — from forbes.com by Valentin Pivovarov

Excerpt:

Among other things, this is due to the relevance of e-Discovery as one of the most popular destinations in the whole legal tech industry.

Also see:

Future law school. What does it look like? — from forbes.com by Valentin Pivovarov

Excerpt:

Can technology upgrade legal education?
If we are promoting a society where everyone feels enfranchised, we must come up with ways to democratize access to legal education.

To speak about access to legal education in the US, only a small sliver of American citizens can afford to get a legal education at a university. Even part-time degree programs typically extend over four years and require three to four nights a week of extensive study time on top of lengthy commutes.

Also, a significant percentage of the country’s population doesn’t live within commuting distance of a law school.

We are at the beginning of a gigantic world trend in law schools and universities, investing major resources in technological solutions to ensure that future lawyers will exhibit competitiveness and a high level of training. Already, at least 10% of US law schools teach knowledge related to the use of AI. Their number will increase as law schools begin to more effectively implement technologies in the practice of applying current legislation.

The Future Today Institute’s 12th Annual Emerging Tech Trends Report — from futuretodayinstitute.com

Excerpts:

At the Future Today Institute, we identify emerging tech trends and map the future for our clients. This is FTI’s 12th annual Tech Trends Report, and in it we identify 315 tantalizing advancements in emerging technologies — artificial intelligence, biotech, autonomous robots, green energy and space travel — that will begin to enter the mainstream and fundamentally disrupt business, geopolitics and everyday life around the world. As of the publication date, the annual FTI Tech Trend Report report has garnered more than 7.5 cumulative views.

Key findings for 2019 (emphasis DSC)

Privacy is dead. (DC: NOT GOOD!!! If this is true, can the situation be reversed?)
Voice Search Optimization (VSO) is the new SEO.
The Big Nine.
Personal data records are coming. (DC: Including cloud-based learner profiles I hope.)
China continues to ascend, and not just in artificial intelligence.
Lawmakers around the world are not prepared to deal with new challenges that arise from emerging science and technology.
Consolidation continues as a key theme for 2019.

This video/article forces me to reflect on what’s likely happening in the militaries throughout the globe [Christian]

On 03/13/2019, in 21st century, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, Australia, Canada, Daniel S. Christian, emerging technologies, engineering, entrepreneurship, ethics, Europe, experimentation, future, game-changing environment, hearts -- matters of the heart, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, intelligent systems, law schools, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, morals/values, pace of change, platforms, programming, robotics, society, sociology, surviving, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, trends, UK, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

How MIT’s Mini Cheetah Can Help Accelerate Robotics Research — from spectrum.ieee.org by Evan Ackerman
Sangbae Kim talks to us about the new Mini Cheetah quadruped and his future plans for the robot

From DSC:
Sorry, but while the video/robot is incredible, a feeling in the pit of my stomach makes me reflect upon what’s likely happening along these lines in the militaries throughout the globe…I don’t mean to be a fear monger, but rather a realist.

Law schools escalate their focus on digital skills [Zimmerman]

On 03/11/2019, in 21st century, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assessment, computer science, data related items, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, Microsoft, productivity / tips and tricks, programming, student-related, tools, trends, by Daniel Christian

Law schools escalate their focus on digital skills — from edtechmagazine.com by Eli Zimmerman
Coding, data analytics and device integration give students the tools to become more efficient lawyers.

Excerpt:

Participants learned to use analytics programs and artificial intelligence to complete work in a fraction of the time it usually takes.

For example, students analyzed contracts using AI programs to find errors and areas for improvement across various legal jurisdictions. In another exercise, students learned to use data programs to draft nondisclosure agreements in less than half an hour.

By learning analytics models, students will graduate with the skills to make them more effective — and more employable — professionals.

“As advancing technology and massive data sets enable lawyers to answer complex legal questions with greater speed and efficiency, courses like Legal Analytics will help KU Law students be better advocates for tomorrow’s clients and more competitive for tomorrow’s jobs,” Stephen Mazza, dean of the University of Kansas School of Law, tells Legaltech News.

Reflecting that shift, the Law School Admission Council, which organizes and distributes the Law School Admission Test, will be offering the test exclusively on Microsoft Surface Go tablets starting in July 2019.

From DSC:
I appreciate the article, thanks Eli. From one of the articles that was linked to, it appears that, “To facilitate the transition to the Digital LSAT starting July 2019, LSAC is procuring thousands of Surface Go tablets that will be loaded with custom software and locked down to ensure the integrity of the exam process and security of the test results.”

Is this South Africa’s best legal online platform using blockchain? — from techfinancials.co.za
The winners of the event, Kagiso, will progress to the second round of the contest, in which a panel of international judges will decide who attends a grand final in New York.

Excerpt:

The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) and leading global law firm Baker McKenziehave announced the winners of the South African leg of Global Legal Hackathon 2019 (GLH2019).

First prize went to Kagiso, an online mediation platform that provides a cost-effective and fast alternative to lengthy court processes for civil disputes.

Kagiso uses machine learning to match cases with professional mediators who have the most relevant skill sets to be effective – such as subject matter experience or knowledge of local languages – and stores records using blockchain technology.

The second prize was awarded to Bua, a voice-recognition system that allows victims of crime to record their own statements in their own language in a private “safe space” such as a kiosk or on their own phone.

The majority of crimes in South Africa’s go unreported or prosecutions fail, and a leading reason is that victims don’t feel comfortable giving statements in open police stations, and statements are often badly or wilfully mistranslated.

The Global Legal Hackathon is a non-profit organization that organizes law schools, law firms and in-house departments, legal technology companies, governments, and service providers to innovation in the legal industry – across the globe. It brings together the best thinkers, doers and practitioners in law in support of a unified vision: rapid development of solutions to improve the legal industry, world-wide.

From DSC:
Glancing through the awards likely shows where the future of the legal field is going…at least in part.

Also see:

Isaiah 58:6-11

On 03/03/2019, in ethics, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, law schools, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, morals/values, relationships, religion, society, sociology, by Daniel Christian

Isaiah 58:6-11 New International Version (NIV) — from biblegateway.com

⁶“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
⁷Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
⁸Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
⁹Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
¹⁰and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.
¹¹The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.

81% of legal departments aren’t ready for digitization: Gartner [The Mitratech Team]

On 03/01/2019, in 21st century, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Blockchain, bots, business, career development, change, changing business models, corporate / business world, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, new business models, tools, trends, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

81% of legal departments aren’t ready for digitization: Gartner — from mitratech.com by The Mitratech Team

Excerpt:

Despite the efforts of Legal Operations legal tech adopters and advocates, and the many expert voices raised about the need to evolve the legal industry? A Gartner, Inc. report finds the vast majority of in-house legal departments are unprepared for digital transformation.

In compiling the report, Gartner reviewed the roles of legal departments in no less than 1,715 digital business projects. They also conducted interviews with over 100 general counsel and privacy officers, and another 100 legal stakeholders at large companies.

The reveal? That 81% of legal departments weren’t prepared for the oncoming tide of digitization at their companies. That leaves them at a disadvantage when one considers the results of Gartner’s CEO Survey. Two-thirds of its CEO respondents predicted their business models would change in the next three years, with digitization as a major factor.

Also relevant here/see:
AI Pre-Screening Technology: A New Era for Contracts? — from by Tim Pullan, CEO and Founder, ThoughtRiver

Excerpt:

However, enterprises are beginning to understand the tangible value that can be delivered by automated contract pre-screening solutions. Such technology can ask thousands of questions defined by legal experts, and within minutes deliver an output weighing up the risks and advising next steps. Legal resources are then only required to follow up on these recommendations, whether they be a change to a clause, removing common bottlenecks altogether, or acting quickly to monetise a business opportunity.

There are clear benefits for both the legal team and the business. The GC’s team spends more time on enterprise-wide strategy and supporting other departments, while the business can move at pace and gain considerable competitive advantage.

A model for other CS departments to follow? https://t.co/KchlDi2Try

— Chris Kuang (@chris_kuang) February 22, 2019

Joint CS and Philosophy Initiative, Embedded EthiCS, Triples in Size to 12 Courses — from thecrimson.com by Ruth Hailu and Amy Jia

Excerpt:

The idea behind the Embedded EthiCS initiative arose three years ago after students in Grosz’s course, CS 108: “Intelligent Systems: Design and Ethical Challenges,” pushed for an increased emphasis on ethical reasoning within discussions surrounding technology, according to Grosz and Simmons. One student suggested Grosz reach out to Simmons, who also recognized the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to computer science.

“Not only are today’s students going to be designing technology in the future, but some of them are going to go into government and be working on regulation,” Simmons said. “They need to understand how [ethical issues] crop up, and they need to be able to identify them.”

Note to the ABA and to the legal field, check this out: “India Just Swore in Its First Robot Police Officer” [Robitzski]

On 02/21/2019, in computer science, emerging technologies, engineering, ethics, human-computer interaction (HCI), India, intelligent systems, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, morals/values, pace of change, platforms, programming, robotics, society, by Daniel Christian

India Just Swore in Its First Robot Police Officer — from futurism.com by Dan Robitzski
RoboCop, meet KP-Bot.

Excerpt:

RoboCop
India just swore in its first robotic police officer, which is named KP-Bot.

The animatronic-looking machine was granted the rank of sub-inspector on Tuesday, and it will operate the front desk of Thiruvananthapuram police headquarters, according to India Today.

From DSC:
Whoa….hmmm…note to the ABA and to the legal education field — and actually to anyone involved in developing laws — we need to catch up. Quickly.

My thoughts go to the governments and to the militaries around the globe. Are we now on a slippery slope? How far along are the militaries of the world in integrating robotics and AI into their weapons of war? Quite far, I think.

Also, at the higher education level, are Computer Science and Engineering Departments taking their responsibilities seriously in this regard? What kind of teaching is being done (or not done) in terms of the moral responsibilities of their code? Their robots?

Reflections on two articles involving the downsides of/warnings re: AI

On 02/16/2019, in 21st century, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, bots, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, ethics, Google, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, Microsoft, morals/values, society, technology (general), the downsides of how people use tech, tools, by Daniel Christian

Google and Microsoft warn that AI may do dumb things — from wired.com by Tom Simonite

Excerpt:

Alphabet likes to position itself as a leader in AI research, but it was six months behind rival Microsoft in warning investors about the technology’s ethical risks. The AI disclosure in Google’s latest filing reads like a trimmed down version of much fuller language Microsoft put in its most recent annual SEC report, filed last August:

“AI algorithms may be flawed. Datasets may be insufficient or contain biased information. Inappropriate or controversial data practices by Microsoft or others could impair the acceptance of AI solutions. These deficiencies could undermine the decisions, predictions, or analysis AI applications produce, subjecting us to competitive harm, legal liability, and brand or reputational harm.”

Chinese company leaves Muslim-tracking facial recognition database exposed online — from by Catalin Cimpanu
Researcher finds one of the databases used to track Uyghur Muslim population in Xinjiang.

Excerpt:

One of the facial recognition databases that the Chinese government is using to track the Uyghur Muslim population in the Xinjiang region has been left open on the internet for months, a Dutch security researcher told ZDNet.

The database belongs to a Chinese company named SenseNets, which according to its website provides video-based crowd analysis and facial recognition technology.
…
The user data wasn’t just benign usernames, but highly detailed and highly sensitive information that someone would usually find on an ID card, Gevers said. The researcher saw user profiles with information such as names, ID card numbers, ID card issue date, ID card expiration date, sex, nationality, home addresses, dates of birth, photos, and employer.
…
Some of the descriptive names associated with the “trackers” contained terms such as “mosque,” “hotel,” “police station,” “internet cafe,” “restaurant,” and other places where public cameras would normally be found.

From DSC:
Readers of this blog will know that I’m generally pro-technology. But especially focusing in on that last article, to me, privacy is key here. For which group of people from which nation is next? Will Country A next be tracking Christians? Will Country B be tracking people of a given sexual orientation? Will Country C be tracking people with some other characteristic?

Where does it end? Who gets to decide? What will be the costs of being tracked or being a person with whatever certain characteristic one’s government is tracking? What forums are there for combating technologies or features of technologies that we don’t like or want?

We need forums/channels for raising awareness and voting on these emerging technologies. We need informed legislators, senators, lawyers, citizens…we need new laws here…asap.

Learning Ecosystems

Bravely predicting the future of legal work on the Internet’s 30th birthday. [Brown]

The moral issue here [Furlong]

ABA TECHSHOW 2019 is in the books, and the reviews are in [techshow.com]

713% growth: Legal tech set an investment record in 2018

Global Legal Hackathon [HiiL & Baker McKenzie] + “Is this South Africa’s best legal online platform using blockchain?”

Isaiah 58:6-11

A model for other CS departments to follow? [Kuang]

Note to the ABA and to the legal field, check this out: “India Just Swore in Its First Robot Police Officer” [Robitzski]

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