Recent articles have introduced the concept of legal coherence, and highlighted the consequences of its absence. While making our legal code coherent is an admirable goal, it is beyond our current technology. We simply don’t have tools that understand nuance and implication. However, technology is on the horizon that may do this.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is computing technology that mimics the human brain. Conventional computers think in terms of 1s and 0s, roughly corresponding to yes and no answers that are aggregated to do amazing things. AI, however, works like neural networks, strengthening connections when things goes well and weakening them when they don’t. In that way, the computer learns. This technology has been around for decades but has only had major breakthroughs this millennium due to hardware advances. AI has led to Siri, Watson, facial recognition, and the prospect of self-driving cars, among other things.
Perhaps the greatest transformation that AI could make, however, would occur if it were applied to law-making. If it could capture the spirit of an issue, receive data pertaining to that issue, and link to related laws, it could help craft legislation that is more congruent with existing laws, regulations, and budgets at the federal, state, and local levels. Over time, this could lead to a coherent legal code.
Ultimately, however, the impact would be greatest if AI helped us shift from our current printed-paper-based legal infrastructure (which we have had since the 16th century) to a digital legal infrastructure. That would enable governments to manage more resources without ballooning in size, and it could even open the door to a new level of governance. Science fiction? The technology appears to be only a few generations away.
Reference:
Emily Stone, “AI is Here,” Kellogg, Fall/Winter 2019, 21-25; retrieved from https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/kwo/fall-win19/features/ai-is-here.htm
Kevin Kelly, “The Three Breakthroughs That Have Finally Unleashed AI on the World,” Wired, 27 Oct 2014, retrieved from https://www.wired.com/2014/10/future-of-artificial-intelligence/
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