Introducing The Legal Tech-To-English Dictionary!

Ed. note: This is the inaugural installment of The Legal Tech-to-English Dictionary, part of our Non-Event for Tech-Perplexed Lawyers. Jared Correia is the host of the Non-Eventcast. 

There’s a term for when attorneys use Latin and other arcane languages to describe legal processes to consumers: “legalese.”  

But there’s no similar term for when vendors use technical and other arcane languages to describe their legal software operations to lawyers.

True, this dynamic may seem unfair. But now we have The Legal Tech-to-English Dictionary to help us cope. 

Read on for the inaugural installment, where we translate AI-related topics to plain English. 

And for more commentary on legal tech, check out the Non-Eventcast in the Law Practice Management Software, Legal Document Management Software, and Legal Operations Contract Lifecycle Management rooms at the Above the Law Non-Event.   

Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

1. The process by which computer systems can learn to perform tasks traditionally reserved for human intelligence. 
2. Yeah, I don’t actually know what the hell it means either. But, robots?
3. A descriptor attached to any product to make consumers believe that said product reflects a forward-thinking and modernist approach.

Lawyer 1: Hey, I thought this product used AI. 

Lawyer 2: Yeah, they just hired a bunch of people to operate faster than their competitors and make it seem like they were using AI.

cf. That “Simpsons” where Mr. Burns puts 1,000 monkeys to work on 1,000 typewriters but the best they can come up with is: “It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times . . .” (See also “Infinite Monkey Theorem.”)

Machine Learning

1. The creation and use of computer systems that can learn from data without human intervention. 
2. The process by which machines will eventually become our masters and take over the known universe.  
3. Haven’t you seen “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” or even “Wall-E”?  I shouldn’t have to be telling you this.

Lawyer 1: I thought machine learning was cool and all, until my microwave jumped my pet ferret and cooked him.

Lawyer 2: The good news is that ferret meat is surprisingly tender.

cf. “I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.” (See also everything comes back to “The Simpsons.”)

Deep Learning

1. A subspeciality of artificial intelligence, in which machines learn from large data sets, via artificial neural networks meant to mimic human brain operations and how humans learn.
2. The method by which robots may ultimately take the jobs of highly skilled workers.

cf. “My CPU is a neural net processor, a learning computer.” (See also vintage Arnold Schwarzenegger-themed prank calls.)

Robotic Process Automation

1. A business process automation system, in which bots or software are trained to perform tasks normally reserved for human workers.
2. Workflow automation technology, but robots.

cf. How everything was cool in “Bicentennial Man” until robot Robin Williams started feeling emotions and wanted to do more than just housework. It turns out that even the best-laid plans for robot servitude are likely to end in the eventual destruction of humanity.

Regression

1. A method for predicting behavior in AI models by comparing the relationship between two variables.

cf. The 1978 Boston Red Sox.

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Jared Correia, a consultant and legal technology expert, is the host of the Non-Eventcast, the featured podcast of the Above the Law Non-Event for Tech-Perplexed Lawyers.