Case letter 3: emotional competence

We are all able to observe the emotions of people in our lives, while some of us are more emotionally competent than others. To perceive the emotions of others, we observe body language, faces, expressions, grimaces and the social dynamics around us. However, if we do not know what we are looking for, then we will ‘see’ very little. This may be compared to watching two chess players in action without knowing a single rule of the game. The whole game will seem incomprehensible and we will quickly get bored. We must have knowledge of emotions to understand what they mean; otherwise we can observe without seeing what is actually happening. Knowledge of emotions allows us to recognize how an action contributes to a larger pattern of behaviour; in other words, individual actions will not provide us with much information. The more you narrow down the field of observation, the less you will know about what is really happening.

Case letter 4: the legal profession between 2020 and 2045

Already today, several law firms are using artificial intelligence and intelligent robots to resolve disputes and advise their clients (Susskind, 2017). It is not difficult to envision how this tendency will increase in the future, and that new technology will greatly affect the practices of law firms by around 2045 compared to 2020. There are already a number of businesses starting to emerge in the border area between technology and legal work, which goes under the name of legal-tech. These businesses specialize in using artificial intelligence to provide legal services. When artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, it is not difficult to foresee how more legal issues of varying complexity will be solved using artificial intelligence.

Clients will be better served when it will be possible to access and interpret all the rules, laws, past court cases and legal practices in a much better and fail-safe way. In the future, intelligent robots that are connected to international practices in the field will be able to do this more efficiently than lawyers are able to do today. However, there may be one exception to this general rule, and that is when situations arise in which a strong degree of legal discretion is required.

Of course, no one knows precisely what the legal profession will look like in 2045. However, we know that the legal system and methods are designed in such a way that artificial intelligence will easily be able to adapt to the system. We also know that being a leader in an industry is no guarantee of survival, as was demonstrated by the bankruptcy of Kodak that had held a dominant position in the photographic industry during most of the twentieth century. In a short period, Instagram took over by embracing the new digital technology, something which Kodak failed to do. In the telecommunications industry, there are many similar examples. Nokia was outcompeted with the introduction of smartphones; they lost their leading position in the industry when they were unable to adapt to technological changes. The same development may occur in the legal industry. If the new technology is developed further and linked to new forms of organization that ensure quality at a fraction of the cost, then it is not difficult to foresee that the entire legal profession will go through radical changes. The following scenario may occur around 2040: all documentation related to legal methodology will be automated. At the same time, there will be a complete interconnection of all laws, rules and jurisprudence so that intelligent robots will have the necessary overview and also be able to use a certain degree of discretion when making assessments. If this occurs, and there is much that indicates it will (Susskind, 2017: 45), then electronic legal practices will most probably be established that can guide clients in many ways. Most probably, artificial intelligence will also be used in conflict negotiations that can take place in closed online communication systems, because the parties will be able to see the possible consequences of various solutions through analysis of available material. Costs for clients will fall, and we will therefore be able to see an increase in demand for these services. Moreover, it is highly probable we will witness the emergence of virtual courtrooms with virtual judges and virtual juries.

So how will it be possible to use social and emotional competences in the light of such a development? The immediate answer is that we will see a situation in which people who can operate and understand artificial intelligence will be able to help clients with low-level legal questions, and possibly even bring their cases via intelligent robots to a solution. These people in the new functions will not necessarily be qualified lawyers but may have a bachelor’s degree combining various subjects, such as jurisprudence, communication competence and artificial intelligence. The emergence of businesses with such new competences will be able to offer a kind of ‘legal first aid’ to clients as an alternative to the costly services of lawyers and legal firms. Just as Kodak was replaced by Instagram, one can imagine a development where law firms will be replaced by ‘Insta-law’ businesses. These businesses will go from scope to scale, i.e. they will grow and make money by means of mass production rather than specializing in one specific legal area.