From within the plethora of recent revolutionary technology developments, Harvey AI emerges as a leading generative AI operation garnering serious attention in the field of litigation. Despite still being in beta, the platform has enjoyed significant investments from a range of prominent companies, including $5 million from the Open.AI startup fund, and more recently, $21 million in Series A funding led by Sequoia Capital.  

As a pioneer of the field, Harvey AI has a promising future and has already made waves in streamlining litigation. For example, firms using the platform have boasted better relationships with their clients and colleagues due to noticeable improvement in completion time, which usually leads to less hours clocked and therefore less expensive services.  In addition, the AI’s ability to speedily comb through significant amounts of data allows for employees to better manage their time and instead focus in-depth on more difficult tasks.  The AI can likewise be used to predict outcomes of cases and provide insightful assessments on specific topics that would assist employees in making important decisions. 

However, there are some data security concerns when using such tools generally. The use of AI enables broader access to sensitive information. However, the problem arises when considering how many more avenues competitors–and perhaps even extortionists–would then have to confidential intelligence. This raises the question of just how secure Harvey AI is. Depending on an area’s rules of professional conduct, laws and regulations on the transmission of confidential information varies. It is essential to review the exact terms of each location, as well as the program’s terms of use before partnering with AI programs.  Again, it may be possible to hack into technical systems, so digitizing sensitive information on any platform will always pose security risks.

Another concern regards the accuracy of the information the AI uses and generates. Harvey AI uses natural language processing algorithms, which is based on the Open.AI platform, which has faced criticism about providing inaccurate information.  Though it is possible to tailor the system to use specific data, it also uses data from the internet as a foundational base.  As the internet is not always a reliable source, it is possible for Harvey AI to base its work off of faulty information. 
Still, there is also a cost for not adopting AI into daily use. As other law firms commit to the use of such technology, their efficiency and productivity rates are sure to improve to a point where firms without the aid of AI would no longer be able to compete. Clients are much more likely to drift towards firms that can guarantee a more efficient use of their time, cheaper rates, and perhaps even a lower error rate when reviewing contracts and keeping up with rapid regulatory changes. 

Naturally, this would lead to AI taking over the jobs of current employees, such as those conducting due diligence. AI can offer assistance in legal, financial, and taxing spheres by reviewing and flagging potential areas of contention. Specifically, this means they can help with research, drafting, and other routine tasks.  As generative AI systems are increasingly commercialized, the range of law firms’ competitors may dwindle, and the ones that are quicker to adopt new technologies have a competitive advantage.

Harvey AI is not likely to replace lawyers, but it is likely to alleviate lawyers’ workloads by eliminating menial tasks and freeing up time for higher level services. However, as AI continues to develop, it is not far-fetched to imagine a future where AI services manage to take over higher level tasks. Though AI only offers a helping hand today, AI will almost certainly continue to play an increasingly large role in our lives, in and out of the office.