Next week the world will turn its eyes towards the CES, the leading consumer electronics trade show. This prestigious event, hosted by the Consumer Technology Association, will mark its 100th anniversary, showcasing over 3,500 exhibitors across multiple industries.
The convergence of technology, innovation, and vast entrepreneurial energy makes CES highly relevant to legal professionals. Though the legal industry has been typically slower to adopt consumer tech, the emerging technologies and trends that CES introduces often find their way into legal practice.
Take, for instance, Gen AI, a dominant feature of this year’s show. The technology portends changes to the legal landscape potentially more significant than those ushered in by Google search, iPhones, or the internet. As technology’s future is increasingly inseparable from AI’s, we can expect to see its influence in the law continue to grow.
Last year’s show highlighted shifts like decentralization and the mounting ubiquitousness of AI, trends which hold profound implications for the law. Understanding these tendencies is crucial for law professionals looking to anticipate future challenges and opportunities.
The entrepreneurial spirit and innovation at CES stand in stark contrast to the cautious and risk-averse culture prevalent in the legal sector. The environment, focused on exploration and pushing boundaries, offers a powerful antidote to legal professionals’ often conservative attitudes to new technology. It provides a unique opportunity for the sector, often criticized for being too inward-looking, to shift its perspective and truly envision the possibilities technology holds for the law.
The CES 2024 conference has identified four key themes: access to technology, partnership with the UN’s Human Security initiative, the centennial celebration, and Gen AI. With the explosion of AI present in an array of everyday products, exhibitors such as Intel, Qualcomm, and AMD are rumored to unveil chips designed to process AI on devices, reducing the need for cloud storage and improving response time.
As someone who has attended CES several times, I hope to bring back insights and stories that can further enlighten law professionals about the potential transformations technology might bring to our industry.
Explore further in Stephen Embry’s article on Above the Law, where he regularly shares thoughts on the intersection of technology, law, and the practice of law.