“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” – HAL 9000

It’s been a long time since 2001 Space Odyssey portrayed HAL (Heuristically ALgorithmic computer) as the sentient machine who locked crewman David Bowman out of the spaceship to prevent being shut down. Since that movie debuted, artificial intelligence has become a reality and, with it, so too have many fears. From piloting planes and driving cars to playing chess and winning on Jeopardy, it appears that AI is actively participating in human endeavors. But what does that mean for us carbon-based lifeforms and our professions?

In this episode of Law Technology Now, host Bob Ambrogi discusses artificial intelligence, its uses, and the potential impact on the legal industry with Thomson Reuters Corporate Segment Director and Legal Managed Services General Manager Eric Laughlin. According to Eric, AI will revolutionize the practice of law and provide greater access to it for the masses. He described the upcoming revolution as gradual, with changes going from being novel and labeled as AI to becoming routine and regarded as additional tools on various devices.

Stay tuned to hear about predictions for legal jobs in the future, why many attorneys and firms support the development of artificial intelligence, and the exciting developments at Thomson Reuters’ Cognitive Computing Center of Excellence, where they are teaming up with IBM Watson to create exciting new products to support the legal industry.

Eric Laughlin is the managing director of the Corporate Counsel Segment and general manager for the Legal Managed Services at Thomson Reuters. In addition to heading their IBM Watson initiative, he is responsible for their information, software, and service offerings for corporate legal departments as well as their technology and service offerings in e-discovery, contract management, and compliance domains.

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