The legal industry is going through a period of rapid change
driven by advances in technology. In this context, it is more
important than ever for legal professionals to understand
generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) and how it can be
incorporated into legal practice. Gen AI tools provide a
competitive edge, create efficiencies in service delivery, and have
the potential to increase access to justice. Lawyers must consider
their own business case and choose Gen AI tools that work for
them.
Setting the context
While Gen AI may be the current buzzword in legal practice,
artificial intelligence has a deep history in the field of computer
science. In 1950, Alan Turing published his seminal paper,
Computing Machinery and Intelligence1,
introducing the world to the revolutionary possibility that
machines could think. Since then, computer science has been
attempting to design systems that can replicate the ease and
efficiency of the human mind. This quest was