P2P

28 P E E R T O P E E R : I L T A ' S Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E | S P R I N G 2 0 2 3 You can take the internet as an example – a game- changing development that has had far-flung consequences that could not have been foreseen. The internet by itself did not change anything. It was the application of the internet to solve problems that led to positive (and negative) change. The discussion was not around, "what are the use cases for the internet" but more "what are the most valuable problems that we can solve, and is the internet the best way to solve them". By starting with the problem, you remain fixed on the quickest way to solve a particular issue. For example, many firms have learned through deployments of AI tools that they did not actually need AI in the first place. For use cases such as "extract the date from these documents" and "tell me who the parties are in this agreement", it is entirely possible that rules-based algorithms provide a cheaper, cleaner and quicker solution than more expensive machine learning options. In a perfect world, AI projects would start without AI being mentioned at all – a beautiful cascade of problem, and a natural confluence to an AI solution, if indeed that is the best solution. In reality, this does not always happen. People often have a solution in mind before they start doing problem analysis. With emerging technologies, such as generative AI, this can be helpful, because it might lead you to consider a very wide range of problems – including those previously thought of as being impossible to solve. But at the same time, it can lead you to be biased towards a particular solution. Always be mindful that humans have a tendency to think about problems through the lens of a particular solution. Doing this might have you end up fixing something that isn't worth fixing, or fixing it in the wrong way. Don't change just to change Most of what has been said above is applicable to all types of technology, in any industry. The interesting thing about AI tooling is that it often sits in a special category of emerging technology, where we tend to overestimate the short-term impact and underestimate the long-term impact. There is a risk that excitement around these kinds of technology might cause people to depart from a tried and tested process of putting problem before solution that has delivered success in the past. The great thing about exciting new tech, regardless of whether you end up using it or not, is that it provides a catalyst for change and for people to reconsider things that might be gathering dust on the top shelf. This, combined with the proper analytical framework, will undoubtedly bring change that has been carefully thought through and designed for true business impact. ILTA F E A T U R E S Jack Shepherd, Legal Practice Lead, iManage was a restructuring and insolvency lawyer, before pivoting his career to drive change in the legal world, often through technology. He is focused on cutting through hype and focusing on the needs and motivations of the actual users of legal ser vices and legal technologies.

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