You usually do not encounter a discussion of artificial intelligence without machine learning being mentioned. While AI is incredibly interesting, machine learning is arguably the more important of the two topics. What does machine learning have to do with your law firm? Let’s take a look.
What Is Machine Learning?
Machine learning is nothing more than the ability of an artificial intelligence, usually an algorithm, to take in new information and draw conclusions on its own. In fact, this capability is what underpins artificial intelligence in the first place. Without the ability to learn and infer, AI would not exist. It would be nothing more than conventional software, performing tasks based on human input alone.
How Does Machine Learning Affect the Law Firm?
There are a number of different ways machine learning can affect a law firm. One of those is by conducting legal research. The average law firm spends an immense amount of time and effort researching laws and legal precedents. AI can handle that for you and can complete it within a fraction of the time it would take a human being.
Another area where machine learning and artificial intelligence are having an impact on the law firm is in reviewing documents. For instance, suppose you need to analyze a document and then find similar documents. Once the basic pattern was recognized by the AI (through machine learning), the algorithm could then go about identifying other documents with the same similarities.
You will also find that machine learning and AI are being more frequently used when it comes to due diligence. Using software to replace human beings in the performance of due diligence offers a number of advantages, including reduce time spent and less cost involved. AIs are also delivering better outcomes because their decisions are made based purely on real-time information and are not colored by personal biases or experiences.
Finally, machine learning is having a major impact on contract review and management. Algorithms imbued with machine learning capabilities can greatly automate many of the processes here, including redlining items, editing, analyzing contracts in bulk, and more, all of which save time and reduce costs while increasing accuracy and improving out comes.
In the end, machine learning enables AI to be more valuable to law firms, while reducing time and financial costs.
