Watson works to ‘learn’ by building on information it has gathered and has been described as the most significant technology ever to come to law. The AI software should soon be capable of carrying out the work done by trainees and paralegals and its development has been closely monitored by the global legal market, with providers looking to employ the technology to reduce costs. The cognitive computer technology has already been employed in the legal market through the University of Toronto’s ‘Ross’ machine, dubbed the world’s first ‘Watson-powered lawyer’.

Tax AI

Meanwhile, academics and computer scientists in the US are looking at how artificial intelligence can detect tax evasion by corporates and partnerships. They have produced a paper on revolutionising tax affairs by using technology to monitor tax movements via subsidiaries without employing a large team of accountants and lawyers. According to The New York Times, the federal tax laws could be produced as an algorithm, which would then detect abuses. Sources: The Lawyer; SFGate.com