AI Update: Clients Aren’t Afraid Of AI, SEC Data Analytics Proposal, IBM CEO On Regulation
A new survey from the legal technology company Clio found that clients tend to be “more optimistic” about the use of generative AI than the lawyers that represent them, according to a write-up of Clio’s findings in the ABA Journal. The tech company’s finding contrasts with a previous survey from Pew Research that determined public anxieties about AI to be a major hurdle for companies looking to utilize AI technology.
Financial industry trade groups have made moves to protest the SEC’s “Conflicts of Interest Associated with the Use of Predictive Data Analytics by Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers” proposal, Pensions & Investments reports. The proposal would “address conflicts of interest associated with their use of predictive data analytics and similar technologies to interact with investors to prevent firms from placing their interests ahead of investors’ interests,” according to the SEC.
In an interview with Politico, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna argued that the federal government should hold AI companies responsible for harms caused by the use of their technology. “Two thousand years of economic history have shown us that if you are legally liable for what you create, it tends to create a lot more accountability,” Krishna said.
AI companies designing products for attorneys must overcome three challenges: building trust, fitting into a law firm’s existing organizational structure, and delivering clear benefits for the firm and for the attorneys themselves, Paxton.ai founder and CEO Tanguy Chau writes in an opinion piece for Forbes.
An MIT Technology Review survey of at least 1,000 executives highlights some of the potential challenges, rewards, and routes to success regarding generative AI in the corporate world. Recognition of the transformative power of AI was nearly universal, but uncertainties about the technology and potential future regulation continue to loom large, and many companies are looking to partner with bigger tech companies while they find their sea legs. Many of the executives surveyed also noted that they expect AI to lead to workforce reductions.
Ethan Beberness is a Brooklyn-based writer covering legal tech, small law firms, and in-house counsel for Above the Law. His coverage of legal happenings and the legal services industry has appeared in Law360, Bushwick Daily, and elsewhere.
