Robotic Lawyers: AI is almost always unbeatable

Somehow, our minds are still stuck in that era where fully functional robots are nothing more than science fiction. The idea of having robots do normal human chores still feel so far-fetched that the mere thought of it brings back good old memories of Star Wars movies.

It’s really nothing realistic.

Even as news about delivery robots and flying drones seem to have become a normal thing these days, the thought of actually seeing them in action somehow still makes us feel like it’s science fiction.

But the future is here. And the future is now.

We might still be in denial, but the truth is, robots are no longer just science fiction. They’ve actually become real, and they’re actually now here.

And to prove that, we’ll tell you a story about how one law firm is planning to start using robotic lawyers to help with their clients. Actual robotic lawyers.

Yes, they exist.

IBM’s Watson successfully came up with the first artificial intelligence attorney, a robotic lawyer called ROSS.

Now before you start panicking and start asking how ROSS can even make a courtroom appearance if it doesn’t even have the license to do so, knowing that it is — you know, a robot, and not an actual human — you can take comfort in the fact that ROSS will only function as a research tool for actual, living, breathing lawyers.

Or at least for now.

Baker & Hostetler, a major law firm in the U.S., recently confirmed that they plan to get ROSS to help 50 of their lawyers in the firm’s bankruptcy division.

Essentially, ROSS can function the same way non-robotic lawyers are supposed to function: drawing interferences from the currently existing laws of the land to help colleagues argue their way into winning.

And just like any other lawyer, ROSS is able to understand your natural language just fine. No need for specific, robotic commands to get him to work.

More features

Another impressive feature of this robotic lawyer is its ability to learn and improve on its future answers — just like a normal, living lawyer. This machine-learning capability of ROSS also lets it keep up with new rulings here and there without any problem at all.

Saving time

Robotic lawyers will be of big help to firms like Baker &a Hostetler as these AIs can help the lawyers save valuable time by making important information relevant to their cases readily available — eliminating the need to actually read through piles and piles of cases just to find something relevant to the case at hand.

The makers of ROSS expect other law firms to soon follow suit and avail of their very own robotic lawyer.

It shouldn’t take long before these robotic lawyers start representing clients and making court appearances.