“DeepMind (an AI system of neural networks) was acquired by Google in 2014 and uses games as a testing ground for AI algorithms that could have real-world applications. AlphaGo was imbued with the ability to learn through the human-like process of practice and study. It is not a hand-crafted program in which software engineers distil information from, for example, a human player’s head into specific rules and heuristics. AlphaGo’s founder Demis Hassabis comments that an aspect of ‘intuition’ has been introduced into the neural networks, a characteristic which distinguishes top Go players.
The same could be said about top lawyers, lawyering, and legal service provision. In a handful of years – from the introduction of chess-playing computer program Deep Blue in 1996 to AlphaGo’s self-learning in 2016 – we have reached a point where a machine proved its superiority over a world-class human being’s creativity and intuitive insights.
Despite the fact that Lee Se-dol has since beaten AlphaGo, this does not detract from the significant step forward made in machine-learning capabilities. After all, even Hassabis was surprised at the rate of progress he and his team achieved in such a short timeframe – 18 months, from inception to triumph. I cannot imagine an 18-month-old baby being able to study and learn at the same rate as AlphaGo, can you? There is, therefore, a possibility, in theory at least, that a machine could learn through practice and study to become a world champion lawyer. And this is deeply significant.”
Great piece by Chrissie Lightfoot | read full article on Pulse | LinkedIn http://ow.ly/sdQP302kif9
SmartContracts - Blockchain, AI in Law, and Legaltech Blog (Curated by Lawyers) 