In the Masnavi of Rumi, there is a great story:
One day, a know-it-all grammarian wanted to go across a long river. He got on one of the small boats that was rowed by a boatman. Halfway across the river, he said to the boatman, "Hey, Boatman, tell me, do you know anything about grammar?" The boatman said, "No, Sir, I do not know anything about the grammar". "Ah well," the grammarian replied, "then, half of your life has been wasted!" The boatman felt sad but did not say anything and kept rowing. A little later, a strong storm began to blow, and their boat was on the edge of capsizing. The boatman asked, "Sir, do you know how to swim?" The grammarian looked terrified and said, "Oh no, I do not know how to swim." "Ah well", the boatman replied, "then, your whole life has been wasted, because we are about to sink in this whirlpool!
Grammarians and boatmen, as in this Sufi story, have always existed with different names and titles. Only that those used to be humans. Now artificial intelligence (AI) is on the stage with remarkable capabilities. AI's assistance in the legal world goes beyond basic legal tasks such as collection of data and scheduling appointments; it can develop a self-aware consciousness to learn, plan and solve problems. AI can even pass a bar exam with high scores.1
AI could be the perfect grammarian by nature, but can it swim when the boat is about to capsize? Is local knowledge and intuition outdated in the age of robotics and big data or is it something we can never turn our back on when it comes to big decision-making? These questions have been in the minds of many businesses opening up to local waters and wanting to keep their boats safe all along the way.
Brand protection is a complex task requiring well-thought-out strategies, and "gut feeling" has become an important concept in building strategies over the years even in the Western part of the world where rationality and logic is traditionally more valued. The "gut feeling" is not separate from logic, but it is more than that; it includes the intuition filtered through years and improved with experience. The gut is considered as a "second brain" by modern neuroscience, but there might be a third, fourth or thousandth brain of a human that are interconnected and await discovery. A holistic perspective of an issue is, therefore, highly complicated, but also essential for dealing with the circumstances when there is a storm.
Obtaining data today is as easy as pie in the intellectual property area with various tools and data sources. It is also fast thanks to algorithms. However, the interpretation and analysis of the data still requires expertise and deep understanding of local dynamics which incorporate nuances an AI cannot catch through the data on the shelf.
This is not simply a "boatman beats grammarian situation" or an "AI versus Human" scenario from a dystopian science fiction movie. In the legal world, AI makes our work easier, fulfilling, and productive. It is no exaggeration to say that those who do not welcome AI today will be left behind in tomorrow's business. However, what is also clear is that AI cannot think outside the boat and comprehend the world in the same manner a human does. At least the current forms of AI!
Footnotes
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