Another day, and more announcements by legal tech vendors of some fancy new Gen AI tools that will save the profession, if not the world. It’s a dizzying array of claims and promises.
And for most of us, there is no way to really evaluate whether the tools will do what the vendors claim. Or whether the claims are basically being offered to show the vendor is keeping up with other vendors. It’s a full-blown hype cycle.
Of course, for those of us in the media, it’s hard to validate the claims being made. With consumer products–like say smartwatchs–we can play with the products and put them through the paces to see if they will do what the seller claims.
But with legal tech tools, lawyers and legal professionals have to use them in a legal setting to know if they will do what the vendor says. They have to be applied to actual legal problems to know whether they really work. And most lawyers and legal professionals aren’t likely to take the time to provide the kind of review that might enlighten others.
So, it’s an area that’s ripe for manipulation and exaggeration. But even with consumer-oriented products, the Gen AI arms race yields claims and demonstrations by well-known vendors that aren’t quite what they seem.
Last week, for example, Google announced the release of Gemini. Gemini is touted as an advanced Gen AI platform that can produce written, pictorial, and audio content. It’s claimed to have an easy to use interface. Google even released an entertaining demonstrative video to the public and media designed to trumpet the product.
The video is roughly six minutes long and demonstrates what appeared to be a
