I
L
T
A
W
H
I
T
E
P
A
P
E
R
|
C
O
R
P
O
R
A
T
E
L
E
G
A
L
D
E
P
A
R
T
M
E
N
T
S
13
A
rtificial intelligence (AI) will continue to
enhance (not replace) the work of GCs
and legal departments. According to the
2019 ILTA Technology Survey, advances in AI will begin
to shift technolo from performing tasks that replace
the workforce to performing tasks that enhance the
workforce.
For legal departments, the biggest gains from
automating legal practices will be time saved and
improved workflow efficiencies. AI will accomplish
this by taking over the most laborious tasks, including
litigation support, email, eDiscovery and the use of
databases for case management. When we automate
tasks like these, we actually unlock human creativity
and allow the mind to apply its critical thinking
faculties to things that are more important, less
mundane and less administratively burdensome.
When a person has to work on multiple tasks
at the same time and ends up switching between
various tasks throughout the day, something called
"attention residue" – which is inherited from the
previous sequence of tasks that you've been doing –
starts to reduce our productivity. This is closely related
to another phenomenon called "context switching,"
which happens when we transition between settings
(say, home or office) or roles (parent or employee).
Think about how many times during the work day
you see a pop-up notifying you about a new email or
a Slack or text message on your cell phone. Unless
you are extremely well-disciplined, you are going to
be drawn to what is going on somewhere else on your
B Y R YA N S T E A D M A N
How the Future of AI,
Automation and Data Will
Impact General Counsels
