I was late to the AI party. In 2019 a legal journal editor asked me a question about AI. I replied “I’m 67 years old and have developed a little expertise in a few areas. At this point in my life it’s too late for me to try to learn about something new and as
Hyping the Risk of Out-of-Control AI
Many purveyors of AI snake oil delight in forecasting that Skynet is right around the corner. They suggest that Generative AI is so close to AGI (artificial general intelligence, meaning AI apps that can perform most or all tasks as effectively as any human being). They claim that we
Richard Susskind’s new book How to Think About AI: A Guide for the Perplexed explains how thought patterns affect openness to AI:
The “process vs. outcome” distinction.
Chapter 3, “Process-thinking and Outcome-thinking,” sets the stage for following chapters by contrasting the views of two heavyweight public intellectuals: Henry Kissinger and
How much disruption can we expect from adoption of AI? A new report assesses the issue:
Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure is a comprehensive analysis from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Poland’s National Research Institute (NASK) of the possible effects of Generative AI on the job market. The
Here’s the conclusion of my LLRX.com review of AI Snake Oil. In case you couldn’t tell, I liked it:
The Bottom Line
From predicting case outcomes to drafting legal documents, AI promises abound. But as Narayanan and Kapoor compellingly argue, separating AI fact from fiction is now a critical skill for professionals.
AI Snake
A warning from Richard Susskind’s How to Think About AI: A Guide for the Perplexed:
We’re still warming up. In not many years, our current technologies will look primitive, much as our 1980s kit appears antiquated today. [The current wave of AI apps] are our faltering first infant steps. Most predictions about the future
In the Kennedy-Mighell Report Episode 300, What’s Happening in LegalTech Other than AI? Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell had some good ideas in response to my recent question about where to find prompt libraries. It’s good to have starting points, but I strongly agree with Dennis that “roll your own” is the way to go.
My review of Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor’s new book, AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference is available at LLRX.com. The bottom line:
AI Snake Oil is a crucial guide for navigating the complex and often misleading landscape of artificial intelligence. It is essential reading
Reading law review articles is usually pretty low on my priority list, but I’m making an exception for Carolyn Elefant’s Energy Law Journal law article “Generative AI for the Energy Law Practitioner.” There’s more info on LinkedIn. The pioneering Elefant included a bonus: Creating a new Bluebook format for citing to phony cases
My review of Richard Susskind’s excellent new book, How to Think About AI: A Guide for the Perplexed is now available at AttorneyAtWork.com. Here is the conclusion:
With over 500 generative AI apps for lawyers cataloged by LegalTech Hub in March 2025, the proliferation of such tools shows no signs of slowing. In this