ABA Forms Task Force to Study Impact of Artificial Intelligence on The Legal Profession

By: Legal Tech Blog

The American Bar Association  has announced the launch of a specialized Task Force on Law and Artificial Intelligence that will look at the effects of AI on legal practices, as well as the ethical implications for lawyers. ABA President Mary L. Smith made the announcement, clarifying that the Task Force will focus on specific aspects including:

• Risks (bias, cybersecurity, privacy, and uses of AI such as spreading disinformation and undermining intellectual property protections) and how to mitigate them
• Emergent issues with generative AI
• Utilization of AI to increase access to justice
• AI governance (the role of laws and regulations, industry standards, and best practices)
• AI in legal education

“At a time when both private and public sector organizations are moving rapidly to develop and use artificial intelligence, we are called again to lead to address both the promise and the peril of emerging technologies.” Smith said.

The AI Task Force is chaired by Lucy L. Thomson, an attorney and cybersecurity engineer in Washington, D.C. Thomson is a past chair of the ABA Science & Technology Law Section (SciTech) and a founding member of the ABA Cybersecurity Legal Task Force.  The Vice Chairs of the AI Task Force are Cynthia Cwik, Laura Possessky, and James Sandman.

“Lucy’s knowledge of the legal and technical issues in complex emerging technologies, her law enforcement, private sector, and government experience addressing challenging cybersecurity and privacy issues, and her record as a proven ABA leader all make her an outstanding choice to lead this critical work,” Smith said.

The AI Task Force includes Task Force members, an Advisory Council, and Special Advisors. It consists of lawyers and experts with deep technology and AI expertise…

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