This is my personal statement and does not reflect the sentiments of my employer.
The scope of change that is coming is truly unprecedented. The economist, Michael Spence, recently observed that on the current track of development, by 2050, the computational power of the best machines will exceed the total collective computational power of the human species. It is impossible to know the meaning of a titanic upsurge in computation on that scale. If computation represents human cognitive enhancement, then the closest historical precedent is the coming of literacy more than 1,500 years ago. Just as writing allowed human beings to vastly extend their minds into new directions, so too will be the radical extension of the mind that will become possible through artificial intelligence. Legal technology will ride the wave of changes that technology will bring. The legal services industry is evolving, and the changes are coming quickly and bringing with them both hope and fear. Legal philosophy can help us understand how legal technology will change the law and its role in society. Philosophy changes perspectives and brings new insights, and legal technology today needs this perspective and insight because the law is essential to the health of our democracy.
It is particularly important for legal technology firms to understand that their work is of vital importance to the future, to the liberty of persons, and to the collective aspirations of people around the world for hope and peace and the means to flourish. Legal technology firms need to understand their importance to society. Only companies committed to a clear mission that betters society will be able to attract funding, maintain focus, and garner the support of government, which is of vital importance to their survival. The January 2018 letter of Larry Fink, the founder of BlackRock, should be gospel for the legal technology industry. Slick products alone will not result in long-term success. As Fink puts it, to sustain long-term performance, you must “understand the societal impact of your business as well as the ways that broad, structural trends … affect your potential for growth.” And, there are some obvious ways that philosophers can help with this lofty goal.
Legal Technology and the Logical/Informational Structure of Law
