Chris Chapman reviews the role of technology in shaping legal practice today & tomorrow
With technology developing at such a rapid pace, it is difficult to predict how it might shape the law and the role of practitioners in years to come. On the one hand we are sitting on the brink of an artificial intelligence (AI) and automation revolution that will take us into a new technological age in ways that will have huge implications for society at large, while on the other regulators are placing increased scrutiny on the regulatory and privacy risks caused by advances in technology. How this push and pull will play out is unknown but there is no doubt that technological advancements discussed below are already changing how law is practised and regulated and the nature of wrongdoing itself.
Criminally-efficient algorithms
What sounds like science-fiction is actually becoming science fact; computer programs committing crimes by inadvertently forming so-called digital price-fixing cartels.
Companies working in the travel, retail and hospitality industry have long relied on automated pricing systems to calculate and update prices according to profit targets, supply and