Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significant implications for the legal profession, Chapman Tripp says.
The firm has collaborated with the Institute of Directors (IoD) in producing a white paper calling on government to take the lead in addressing opportunities, risks and challenges presented by AI.
“The legal implications of AI will be highly significant not only for law and policy, but also for the practice of law,” Chapman Tripp partner Bruce McClintock said.
“Lawyers have an important role in assisting policymakers as they adapt existing laws and regulations to advances in AI.
“Initially, AI requires us to consider and adapt regulation in specific domains, such as for autonomous vehicles in transportation, or robotic medicine in healthcare. Over time, we will have to wrestle with the implications of AI for core legal principles like legal responsibility, agency and causation.”
Robotic technologies have already been shown to produce unexpected outcomes, McClintock said.
“This was the case in the ‘flash crash’ of the US stock-market in 2010, where algorithmic trading systems caused a US$1 trillion crash and rebound. It is this unpredictability that generates issues around foreseeability, causation and fault. While not a case for legal fault in that instance, it points to some of the issues we will see. It may be unfair to hold designers of systems that act unpredictably at fault, but that could mean victims are left with no recourse for compensation.
“As another example, what are the implications of driverless cars on the Accident Compensation Corporation, given they are already much safer statistically than human drivers in the few areas they are being used?”
We will soon need to consider adapting regulation and safety standards in areas such as transportation, healthcare, and finance, McClintock said.
“The Ministry of Transport has started working on safety standards and conditions for the operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads. Lawyers and policymakers will also need to consider whether legal regimes should be introduced or adapted – for example, to control the use of AI image recognition systems for surveillance systems and for medical radiography, or AI share trading systems that automatically execute trades on our stock markets.
“AI technologies will also impact on workplace safety, requiring directors and organisations to consider how these technologies should be introduced and managed from a health and safety perspective.”
