June 2024

Since Greg Lambert is on vacation, we wanted to share an episode of Future Ready Business podcast, which Greg also produces. Art Cavazos and Courtney White from Jackson Walker, LLP, interview Neil Chilson, Head of AI Policy at the Abundance Institute, and Travis Wussow, regulatory and governmental affairs lawyer Partner at JW. Neil and Travis had worked together at the Charles Koch Institute and are both heavily involved in advising governmental agencies and policy makers on the topic of AI.

Neil Chilson and Travis Wussow both emphasize the complexity of regulating AI due to its broad applications and the difficulty in defining it. They argue that most AI applications fall into areas that already have existing regulatory frameworks, such as healthcare, intellectual property, and transportation. Chilson suggests that policymakers should focus on identifying specific harms and addressing gaps in current regulations rather than creating entirely new frameworks for AI.

Regarding current AI policy, Wussow notes that litigation is already underway, particularly in areas like copyright infringement. He believes that proactive policymaking will likely wait until these legal disputes are resolved. Chilson highlights that there is significant activity at the federal level, with the White House issuing a comprehensive executive order on AI, and at the state level, with numerous AI-related bills being proposed.

On the topic of AI’s potential impact on elections and misinformation, Chilson expresses less concern about AI-generated content itself and more about the distribution networks that spread misinformation. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining trust in the electoral system and suggests that tracking and analyzing actual instances of AI use in elections is crucial for understanding its real impact.

Looking to the future, both experts stress the importance of the United States maintaining its leadership in AI development. They argue that this leadership is essential for embedding American values into AI systems and preventing other countries, such as China, from dominating the field with potentially restrictive approaches. Chilson also highlights the potential for AI to revolutionize healthcare, emphasizing the need to adapt regulatory frameworks, particularly in areas like FDA approval processes, to allow for the benefits of AI-driven personalized medicine while ensuring safety and efficacy.

Follow:

Listen to TGIR on mobile platforms:  

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Contact Us: 

X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gebauerm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@glambert

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com

Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jerry David DeCicca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Continue Reading The Current and Future State of AI Policies with Neil Chilson and Travis Wussow

This week, we have a lively discussion with June Liebert and Cornell Winston, President and President-Elect, respectively, for the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL). The conversation centers around the upcoming AALL annual conference, scheduled for July 20-23, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago. 

June Liebert, Director of Information Services at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, kicks off the discussion by diving into the conference theme. She emphasizes the importance of librarians taking proactive leadership roles, particularly in the context of the rapidly evolving landscape influenced by Generative AI. June highlights the concept of “innovation intermediaries,” individuals who not only generate innovative ideas but also ensure these ideas are implemented effectively. This theme resonates with the need for transformative thinking, urging librarians to embrace significant changes rather than settling for incremental improvements.

This year’s keynote speaker is Cory Doctorow, a renowned sci-fi author and advocate for digital rights, Doctorow’s presence promises to bring a unique perspective on the intersection of technology and societal impact. June shares her enthusiasm for Doctorow, whose work with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and writings on “enshittification” – the degradation of online platforms over time – provide critical insights into the ethical implications of technological advancements. Doctorow’s focus on the human impact of technology, rather than just the technology itself, offers valuable reflections for the legal information profession.

Cornell Winston, law librarian at the United States Attorney’s Office, provides a comprehensive overview of what attendees can expect from the conference. With over 60 educational programs, including a pre-conference workshop on AI strategy, the event promises rich learning opportunities. Cornell underscores the value of networking and connecting with peers, highlighting the inclusive environment fostered by the Host Program for first-time attendees. His advice to explore sessions outside one’s usual domain and to meet new people each day encapsulates the spirit of professional growth and community building.

As the conversation unfolds, the trio touches on the broader theme of innovation and technology within law libraries. June and Cornell discuss the shift from physical books to digital resources, reflecting on how generative AI and other technologies are reshaping the profession. June mentions the implementation of live closed captioning for sessions, a first for the conference, enhancing accessibility and providing real-time transcripts for attendees.

June shares her experiences as the first Asian American president of the association, highlighting her efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Cornell, looking ahead to his presidency, discusses plans to review AALL’s governance structure and explore the future of law libraries in an increasingly digital world. The episode wraps up with a preview of the 2024 conference in Portland, Oregon, promising another enriching experience for the legal information community.

Listen on mobile platforms:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠

Contact Us: 
Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gebauerm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@glambert⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com
Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jerry David DeCicca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Transcript

Continue Reading Leading, Innovating, and Transforming: Insights for the 2024 AALL Annual Conference – June Liebert and Cornell Winston

If you’re my age or older, you most likely remember the first rudimentary spreadsheet application you used.  You may not remember the actual moment you discovered the sort functionality, but you probably remember the feeling you got when you hit that button for the first time. In one magical moment, a jumbled list of items – randomly entered in the nonsensical order they popped into your brain – was immediately transformed into a perfectly alphabetized list worthy of your municipal library’s card catalog.  Amazing!  Revolutionary! Life changing?!

Today we live in the world of Generative AI.  It is amazing, revolutionary, and probably life changing. This technology has already changed, and will continue to change, how we use and interact with computers in business, and in our personal lives.  I use it daily.  I use it in solutions for my clients.  It takes tedious tasks of text transformation and turns them into simple push button experiences.  Just like the sort function does.

An 50 year old male professional with curly hair.jpgOf course, GenAI does a lot more than order or sort text.  It translates.  It rewrites.  It summarizes. It clarifies.  It extracts. It interpolates. It expounds upon. It combines THIS and THAT into one thing.  It re-imagines THIS, as if it were actually THAT. It recontextualizes THIS as if THAT didn’t exist. Its capabilities go well beyond simply sorting a list.  In fact, it often gets simple sorting wrong, because it doesn’t use a hard-coded algorithm to produce it’s text transformation. Instead, GenAI uses vast troves of written example language to determine the probability of the next word it should write, and then the next, and the next… until it reaches it’s maximum output or it runs out of space.

The results of this seemingly simple exercise are impressive.  It means that any writer with a rough idea of what they want to write, no longer needs to stare at a blank page (or screen), they simply ask a question or propose a concept and the technology generates a draft.  Any reader who doesn’t want to read a 400 page transcript of a court proceeding, can get a summary that guides them directly to the “important” parts of the text.  And any person who needs to transform any text from one form, or language, or perspective, to another can get a draft version of that transformation very easily and quickly.

A stupid robot sit in front of a computer making m.jpg

However, there is a downside to Generative AI.  It so easily manipulates and transforms text, that it often gives the appearance of being intelligent.  This is an illusion.  We tend to identify people who easily manipulate and transform text as intelligent people, which gives rise to the fallacy that a machine that does the same is an intelligent machine. We talk about GenAI “passing the bar exam”, as if that means it understands the law, and then we further extrapolate that we can use GenAI to replace lawyers.  As tempting as that proposition might be to those of us who are not lawyers but work with them regularly, it’s not going to happen any time soon, if ever.Continue Reading GenAI & the Magical Sort Button

In this episode of The Geek in Review podcast, hosts Greg Lambert and Kate Boyd from Sente Advisors (standing in for Marlene Gebauer) sit down with Giles Thompson, Head of Growth, and Jun Choi, Growth Executive at Avvoka, to discuss the company’s innovative approach to document automation and the impact of generative AI on the legal industry.

Avvoka is a no-code document automation platform that enables legal professionals to streamline the creation and management of complex legal documents and contracts. The company has recently introduced AI-enhanced features such as SmartAutomation (with GenAI) and SmartConsolidation , which aim to simplify the process of building automations.

Giles and Jun highlight the differences in knowledge management practices between the US and UK, with the former being more technology-focused and the latter being more human-centric. Avvoka’s platform caters to both law firms and in-house legal teams, with clients ranging from Warner Brothers Discovery and McDonald’s to booking.com.

The company also hosts a vendor-agnostic community event series called “Logically Drafted,” which bring together legal professionals interested in document automation to share their experiences and insights. These events have gained traction globally, with upcoming sessions planned for Houston (Tuesday 18 June) and Chicago (Friday 21 June), and other cities.

Looking ahead, Avvoka is focusing on integrating generative AI technologies into its platform while ensuring data security and client control. The company is collaborating with clients to provide flexibility in terms of hosting and integrating large language models, allowing them to maintain control over their data and manage risks associated with these emerging technologies.

Giles and Jun emphasize the importance of being realistic about the capabilities and limitations of generative AI in the legal industry. They believe that document automation will continue to play a crucial role, with AI serving as an enhancement rather than a replacement for existing tools and processes. The key challenge for vendors like Avvoka will be to navigate the hype surrounding generative AI while delivering practical, value-driven solutions to their clients.

Listen on mobile platforms:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠

Contact Us: 
Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gebauerm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@glambert⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com
Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jerry David DeCicca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

TranscriptContinue Reading Avvoka’s Innovative Approach to Document Automation and the Impact of Generative AI – Giles Thompson and Jun Choi