This Will Change Everything Everywhere All at Once

Hello Friends in the Computer,

Okay, first things first…bookmark this artificial intelligence glossary from law dot com.

Sometimes you have to choose between speaking precisely and speaking in terms that your listener understands so you can get to the broader point. I don’t think the overuse of the name ChatGPT is quite on the road to genericide, but let’s do what we can to use the right terms when talking about the expansion of artificial intelligence in law, okay? Cool.

Anyway, how about that new ChatGPT-4?

I guess it can pass the bar exam, as well as a litany of other standardized tests, which actually may be more of an indication of the value of these types of tests than a sign of potential usefulness of this particular tool. (See also similar sentiments from Ed Walters and Kaitlyn Greenidge) Casetext has updated their CoCounsel product with it (after testing and extensive QA with beta testers). At the time of this writing, it’s been announced for maybe 5 hours so I expect to see some more press releases by the end of the week.

At the risk of being a labeled a hater and have screenshots of my thoughts used to shame me at some future point, I shall just say that I remain cautiously optimistic and will withhold judgement until I see some case studies based on real life use and adoption statistics.

I guess this would be a good time to insert that William Gibson quote. That’s probably what a post written by some generative AI program would do.

Welp.

So, anyway, here’s my dad:

Based on the hair (by which I mean the existence, not necessarily the style), I’m guessing this is around 1978-1981. So 40 years ago. I don’t expect you to remember all details of the Sarah Glassmeyer Cinematic Universe, but I grew up in a small town of about 900 people. So we were a little behind the times and often lacked a lot of modern conveniences. No stoplights, the phone system were all party lines until the late 1970s, and the house I grew up in used a cistern to collect rain water off the roof instead a municipal water piped in from the road. (I had a lot of cavities but at least my pineal gland hasn’t been calcified by The Man. 😉) What I’m trying to say is that I don’t know where the bank was in the overall timeline of “installing drive through windows”, but I’m pretty sure they were not an Early Adopter.

(I’m also guessing this because they didn’t get an ATM until the late 1990s. Which they then…put in the lobby so it was only usable during bank hours. They eventually moved it outside.)

Anyway, back to my dad.

Yeah, he still loves him a good bank drive through window. So much so he, here in the Year of our Lord 2023, has yet to use a ATM. See, he still uses bank books and you can’t cram that in the machine and get it updated. Plus there’s the PIN to remember, and all the little keys to touch, and…no.

But Sarah, it’s the 21st century! There’s benefits to using electronic banking! And where the Hell is still getting bank books?

Yeah, but those benefits don’t seem to matter to him and what’s he’s doing works for him. I have no idea about the bank books. I suspect they keep a drawer of them for him because they know he will keep asking until they give him one.

This is madness! Make him!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That’s adorable that you think I can make an 80 year old German farmer to anything he doesn’t want to do.

Anyway, back when I was working in libraries and thinking of the best ways to deliver digital services, I believed in the mantra “the user is not broken.” Still do. It’s easy to blame people as tech phobic, or greedy, or not intelligent, or a hundred other things and assume that’s why a particular tool or method was not adopted. Not so fast. But nor does it mean that the tool or process itself is not good or worthy of adoption. Listen, man, sometimes shit just don’t work out.

From this 2014 analysis of the original 2006 mantra/manifesto…

Let’s say that again….solve their problems, meet their needs.

In other words, “use case” eats “hype” for breakfast.

Let me share two of my favorite examples from industry like I’m an actual professional commentator:

1. Viagra was initially developed as a medication to treat angina. Then some other, oh let’s call them use cases, came…up. <cough>

2. When Jello was developed and put on the market, it initially sold terribly. No one had seen anything like it or knew what to do with it. So they gave away cookbooks that showed people all the possibilities and it took off.

A lot of tech developers I see seem to think they are going to be like Viagra when they really should be acting more like Jello. I’m still a proponent of messing around with tech and seeing what you can do with it besides its intended design, but that’s on an individual level or in controlled beta and not just releasing a tool out into the world with no prep and being all <shocked pikachu face> that adoption and use sucked.

Or…

Even worse…

That reminds me.

Or

I guess I’m not 100% confident that those developing or hyping these new developments fully appreciate the potentially disastrous consequences of developing these tools. I mean, I’m sure of it.

(Also stop clapping and laughing at those Boston Dynamics robots videos. Jesus Christ stop acting brand new and think for five seconds where and how those are most likely to be deployed.)

I love when I dip into Silicon Valley Twitter and I see a user profile that says something like “DEMOCRATIZE THE LAW” and then I look to see the product that they are developing and it’s something only of use to tech developers or people using VC funding. Listen, I have a very broad definition of “access to justice”, probably more broad than many access to justice advocates, but..c’mon man.

(I was going to try and write out my own manifesto describing how I think the richest corporation is just as deserving as equal and efficient access to the legal system as an SRL, but then today in a webinar, Pablo Arredondo reminded us that it’s literally Rule 1 of the FRCP.)

I guess I’m just saying, before you rush to start using these tools, start looking at who’s funding them, notice what jobs they think they can replace, ask what is their vision of the future, and who do they think is in it? Just for starters.

Anyway.

I am reminded of another story of my hometown bank.

Sometime in the mid 1980s, one of the tellers was on the phone with her husband. She suddenly said, “if I don’t call you back in 5 minutes, get Ray (the town police chief) and tell him we’re being robbed.” Then she hung up.

She didn’t call him back and sure enough the bank was being robbed. See, the guys that came into the bank were wearing suits. Ain’t nobody wearing a suit in the middle of the day in Felicity, Ohio unless they’re trouble. Fortunately by the time they left the bank, Ray and a dozen or so heavily armed good old boys were waiting for them outside.

Stay Frosty,

Sarah

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