We tend to talk as if the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution is still ahead of us while forgetting what has already been achieved by computers’ growing ability to learn. 

I have just come back from the South coast of Ireland where the daily weather forecast was carefully examined. When I used to take my children there thirty years ago, studying a long term forecast was a waste of time. It was more likely to be wrong than right, and even the 24 hour forecast was a bit hit and miss.

Now increasingly sophisticated computer programmes, coupled with years of learning from examining the weather, have made prediction of rain and shine amazingly accurate.  The effect of the jet stream is now much better understood and the micro changes which lead to its variation and change are easier to predict from week to week.

Thus, long-term forecasting is becoming more accurate and our mobile phone data more reliable. A look forward to our first ten days in Ireland did not seem promising with rain forecasted every day. In fact, the rain fortuitously fell during the nights and the amount of sunshine was considerably more than forecast.  In truth, there is a bit of a micro climate on the actual South coast and showers tend to form a little more inland. All in all, we had reasonable weather and no wash out days at all. This shows that big data from our weather programmes does not yet have all the answers but we are learning more every day.

Forecasting climate change is even more important. Scientists are worrying about accelerating trends and the connection between deforestation, the reduction in ice cover, and CO2 in the atmosphere. These interrelationships are now better understood than ever before.

Studying the evidence of the past from trees and glaciers has provided masses of data about trends and changes. The picture is clear: we need to change the way we live rapidly, but are we capable of doing this? Some say we are already past the point of no return but it is up to us to prove that prediction wrong.

Machines and computers capable of learning are affecting many other areas of life beyond climate and weather predictions, not least medicine.

For instance, an analysis of hospital admissions over the last 20 years is helping health professionals plan for the future, and an examination of opioid prescriptions in the US is helping change the behaviour of doctors and avoid the mistakes of the past.

A trawl of data relating to thousands of patients can help the analysis of disease in the population at large.

Data relating to individual patients can help predict changes in medical conditions without even a consultation at the surgery. With the help of big data analysis in the future, expert doctors  maybe be able to diagnose medical conditions more accurately and efficiently.  There is still much more that AI can achieve in medicine but we are on the way of creating progress.

So what about law?

There is a lot of talk about Watson IBM and big data. The analysis of court cases and decision making in cases has begun, as well as the introduction of enhanced case management processes for relatively repetitive tasks, such as mortgage work or the analysis of due diligence data. Furthermore, document analysis is helping to save time by alerting the lawyer to key phrases in a voluminous document.

Despite this, the truth is we are a long way behind other sectors. Many are talking about the effects of AI but few are clear and what exactly can be achieved in the world of law.

At my firm, we are working on a number of projects with academic institutions.  The aim is to help lawyers avoid the dull tasks, which they may not do so well, and get them to focus on the important work of helping the client solve the real problems they bring to us day by day. Ultimately, we strive to make legal service delivery more efficient and cost effective, and we are well on our way to understanding how AI can help.

Well-organised systems, intelligent use of data, and the experience of the expert lawyer can make a positive difference in outcomes, which is something that we at the Jackson Lees Group pride ourselves with.