Modern Law Magazine Issue 65

INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEWS
Eric’s background is in music and
martial arts. He has worked at a
Mustang Ranch as a wrangler and
stallion trainer, holds a USCG masters
license as a sailing captain, and
advises as a futurist internationally.
He is a Global Futurist with the B&B
Innovation Futures Group, has a seat
on Bradford & Barthel LLP’s Board
of Directors as Chief Technology
Innovation Officer, and has served as
an advisor to companies and boards
across the US, UK, EU, Mid-East,
Asia-Pacific, South Asia, and
Oceania regions.
Eric expanded his focus within the
future of technology and human
behavior in his TEDx: ‘The Future of
Human Behavior’. His first book of
poetry, ‘Travels in Time’, was published
through Skye House Publishing in May
2022. His next book, ‘The Future of
Human Behavior’, along with his first
solo piano album, are due for release
in the Autumn of 2023.
As a futurist, how do you
incorporate an understanding
of human behaviour into your
predictions and analysis of the
legal landscape?
We’re in an era of perception-based
technology evolution. As a stroke
survivor, I often form parallels between
rebuilding sensory input that we often
take for granted, and placing this into a
context of an artificial intelligence neural
net build. As Nvidia recently disclosed at
the ISC Conference in Hamburg, while AI
was a key piece in building their neural
net within their digital twin modeling of
earth, they didn’t fully understand how
their AI actually built their neural net.
And yet, it worked.
While Nvidia discussed their reverse
engineering approach within this neural
net build in order to fully understand their
AI’s approach, we have yet to fully do the
same with the human brain.
In your opinion, what are some
key psychological factors that
influence human decisionmaking
in legal matters? How
can legal professionals leverage
this knowledge to better serve
their clients?
Focusing still on the human brain, there
is an incredible explosive time in learning
that takes place within human beings
from the ages of 0 to 5, 6 or 7 depending
on the research one references.
In addition to an incremental approach
in learning, there are explosive
understandings that take place in
language development and awareness.
If there’s a primary time to learn multiple
languages, it is currently during this
timeframe of brain evolution.
I’ll often state when speaking to
audiences, that we both shape and are
shaped by our reality.
Realising that our awareness within the
reality around us is constantly evolving,
while both ourselves and our reality are
evolving at the same time, is something
that is important for us to remember. We
often take certain perceptions for granted,
both within ourselves and in what we
interpret around us.
‘Litigation heavy practice areas rely on human
to human interaction.’
‘We’re in an era of perception-based technology
evolution. As a stroke survivor, I often form
parallels between rebuilding sensory input that
we often take for granted.’
As we learned during the pandemic, how
we perceive the world is often how we
shape the world.
Locked down for long periods of time
while experiencing the world through
two dimensional screens shaped our
perception during that time. Leaving
lockdown and experiencing full sensory
immersion outside, and in both new and
remembered environments, reshaped our
perceptions further. It’s a particular time in
history when we as humans the globe over
had nearly an entire globe experiencing
similar shifts in perception, in how we
view the world, and how our immediate
environmental reality shapes us.
This of course, translates to the workplace
and those we interact with, both in
their personal environments and in their
workplace environments. Now more
than ever, these environments have the
opportunity to merge.
In the legal world, particularly as the legal
industry and their clients begin to integrate
large language model and generative
AI into practice areas, practice specific
relationships and applications, it’s an
important element to remember.
How do you see human behaviour
changing in the context of
emerging technologies and their
impact on the legal system? Are
there any particular behavioural
shifts that you anticipate?
Behavioural shifts have already begun
to take place. The use cases for Large
Language Model AI have entered public
consciousness through Open AI Chat
GPT’s viral feats in the fall of 2022 and
continuing into 2023.
Understanding and awareness of practice
areas that are more prone to automation,
while leaning into practice areas that are
litigation heavy and rely heavily on human
interaction is a key evolution taking place.
As we begin to see more spatial
computing, augmented and virtual
reality integration take place in
depositions, court rooms, and for trial
evidence, new horizons open up for the
legal world.
What trends or developments
do you foresee in the legal
industry over the next decade?
AI, Spatial Compute (Augmented/Virtual
Reality) and Quantum Computing.
1. Let’s start with AI.
Large Language Model AI integration
by practice area is a key element already
underway. Though chip shortages in
GPU level supercompute builds have
created a temporary gap in technology
innovation specific to the legal industry,
investments and innovations are
currently underway. Currently, Large
Language Model AI requires scale and
the proper GPU configuration on the
supercompute side to train the AI from
incremental to exponential learning.
Essentially, beginning the correct
supercompute build at scale equals the
pathway to Large Language Model AI
exponential learning and development,
similar to how I described brain
development earlier.
Once trained however, it is important
to shift from as much data as possible
through the AI build to a more refined
approach relative to the desired focus
area required to reduce noise and
develop targeted accuracy.
While LexisNexis and others have already
moved forward in their Large Language
Model builds, many other technology
players within the Legal Industry have
yet to catch up, particularly with practice
specific builds.
It’s important to note, the correct
supercompute build specific to Large
Language Model AI can currently take
place in months. For an incorrect build
however, it will take years. Therefore,
the particular type of supercompute
build and structure to achieve scale
cannot be overlooked.
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