AI-generated information should not be taken at face value, the Harris & Company director says
Jonathan Harris believes that the ‘threat’ of generative AI lies not in it being new technology, but in how information it produces can be taken at face value. The Harris & Company director sees AI as eventually becoming just another tool in a lawyer’s tool belt – however, the regulation of its use and the verification of its output will be key.
In the last part of this interview, Harris discusses diving into the business side of legal practice operations and the wisdom behind not wanting to relive special moments.
While a lot of conversations are focused on the threat of generative AI and the challenge it poses, I think new technology and processes are something that the legal profession has always faced and ultimately adapted to. I think people get very nervous about a new technology and the potential for it to disrupt our way of working, however the profession has encountered new technology time and time again and has always adapted. Much like PEXA, email, docu-sign, electronic witnessing, I think generative AI will end up being just another tool in our tool belt.
I think the bigger challenge comes from how we rely on information at face value where generative AI has been used. We will need to consider how we want to regulate the use of generative AI for specific purposes and how we intend to verify the authenticity of information which is generated. It’s clear that the profession is already turning its mind to those issues – for example the Supreme Court’s recent practice note on use of generative AI.
At this stage, I have my head down focusing on continuing to build my practice and moving into the new role. I think the next year will be a great chance for me to throw myself not just into the technical side of practicing law and providing services to clients, but also to be more involved in the business of running a legal practice.
I don’t think I could narrow that down to just one day, and there are so many significant moments which would be great to go back a revisit. I try to adopt the approach that significant moments/milestones are special because they are fleeting and can’t be relived – we have to embrace them for what they are in the moment and keep moving forward. There is some wisdom in always looking forward to what is coming next and planning for that as opposed to trying to relive or revisit the past.
