{"id":144962,"date":"2026-02-27T10:23:46","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T18:23:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/02\/27\/gimme-an-a-gimme-an-i\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T10:23:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T18:23:46","slug":"gimme-an-a-gimme-an-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/02\/27\/gimme-an-a-gimme-an-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Gimme An \u2018A\u2019! Gimme An \u2018I\u2019!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Given the recent gyrations in the markets, it\u2019s no wonder that people are jittery about the effects (past, present, and future) of AI in our profession. True, we are not the only profession that is nervous about AI\u2019s potential to completely reset our landscape. Jobs once stable and secure may not be any more. It\u2019s no fun looking at something that doesn\u2019t blink back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Panicking about our demise is premature. Lawyers are not just lawyers; we are counselors too. How often have we sat with a client who is anxious, fearful, uncertain as to how to proceed? Sometimes clients need to vent, to feel that someone is truly listening to them, an art in itself that many lawyers do not have. Often, it\u2019s not legal advice that is needed (sorry billable hours) but more for the client to be heard. That\u2019s a skill that we don\u2019t do often enough: to listen and not talk, to not interrupt, to tell the client and show that nothing is more important than the here and now, or should I say the \u201cthe hear and now.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all chatted about emotional intelligence for decades, that EQ is a necessary\u00a0component of lawyering, but it seems that it\u2019s even more important now and going forward for lawyers to have emotional intelligence. That is one thing that large language models and other forms of AI just don\u2019t have. How do you schmooze with a robot? Go out for coffee? Go out for lunch? Entertain clients? The only advantage is that the robot doesn\u2019t have to run home to take care of the family or any personal matters; it doesn\u2019t have to be human. The robot can and does work 24\/7. Dreary, but the robot doesn\u2019t know that, at least not yet.<\/p>\n

One tech company that is trying to install a moral code in AI is Anthropic, which has a resident philosopher<\/a> whose job is to teach Claude about morality. (And I am not making this\u00a0up.) We can debate the morals of lawyers but that\u2019s for another time. We do have rules of professional conduct. I wonder if AI ever will. \u00a0<\/p>\n

What does a resident philosopher at a tech company do? Amanda Askell\u2019s job is to interact with Claude in an effort to learn its reasoning patterns and build its personality. What? An AI model with\u00a0 personality? Is that a good thing? It\u2019s Askell\u2019s belief that eventually the models will create \u201csenses of self.\u201d She is teaching Claude to learn right from wrong. Humans are taught right from wrong, at least they should have been, but sometimes that learning goes awry. That morality instruction can\u2019t come too soon, as there have been deaths in which it is claimed that chatbots<\/a> have somehow and in some manner have been responsible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, before delving into whether LLMs should have a soul or at least a moral compass, we still need to stop the hallucinations that seem to hover over the shoulders of some firms. Hallucinations are the epitome of laziness. And they seem to be without end<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Right now, it\u2019s not AI that needs a soul, although perhaps that would be a step in the right direction. But first, lawyers need to have a soul or, at least a conscience, so that when they sign a pleading, they understand the consequences. Ever wondered how you benchslap AI?<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a report by Citrini Research<\/a> is sobering, even frightening, saying that there may be a \u201crace to the bottom\u201d for white-collar workers, (i.e., us). The report wonders whether future predictions for AI are not bullish, but bearish.\u00a0It used to be that human intelligence was a scarce commodity. Not any more. Not with AI being able to perform many tasks that we used to think only humans could do. \u201cWhile machine intelligence will continue to accelerate, the premium on human intelligence will narrow.\u201d Swell.<\/p>\n

However, a New York Times article says \u201cnot so fast<\/a>.\u201d It points out that while some fret about displacement, others think that AI will be just a tool, and not the kiss of death for white collar workers. So, for some, reports of AI taking over the world may be greatly exaggerated, at least right now.<\/p>\n

Lastly, remember the Magic 8 Ball<\/a>? It answered questions in the affirmative, the neutral noncommittal, and the flat-out negative. Will AI replace lawyers? The Magic 8 Ball is not ready to answer that question yet.<\/p>\n

\n

Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She\u2019s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact \u2014 it\u2019s not always civil. You can reach her by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>oldladylawyer@gmail.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Gimme An \u2018A\u2019! Gimme An \u2018I\u2019!<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Given the recent gyrations in the markets, it\u2019s no wonder that people are jittery about the effects (past, present, and future) of AI in our profession. True, we are not the only profession that is nervous about AI\u2019s potential to completely reset our landscape. Jobs once stable and secure may not be any more. It\u2019s no fun looking at something that doesn\u2019t blink back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Panicking about our demise is premature. Lawyers are not just lawyers; we are counselors too. How often have we sat with a client who is anxious, fearful, uncertain as to how to proceed? Sometimes clients need to vent, to feel that someone is truly listening to them, an art in itself that many lawyers do not have. Often, it\u2019s not legal advice that is needed (sorry billable hours) but more for the client to be heard. That\u2019s a skill that we don\u2019t do often enough: to listen and not talk, to not interrupt, to tell the client and show that nothing is more important than the here and now, or should I say the \u201cthe hear and now.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all chatted about emotional intelligence for decades, that EQ is a necessary\u00a0component of lawyering, but it seems that it\u2019s even more important now and going forward for lawyers to have emotional intelligence. That is one thing that large language models and other forms of AI just don\u2019t have. How do you schmooze with a robot? Go out for coffee? Go out for lunch? Entertain clients? The only advantage is that the robot doesn\u2019t have to run home to take care of the family or any personal matters; it doesn\u2019t have to be human. The robot can and does work 24\/7. Dreary, but the robot doesn\u2019t know that, at least not yet.<\/p>\n

One tech company that is trying to install a moral code in AI is Anthropic, which has a resident philosopher<\/a> whose job is to teach Claude about morality. (And I am not making this\u00a0up.) We can debate the morals of lawyers but that\u2019s for another time. We do have rules of professional conduct. I wonder if AI ever will. \u00a0<\/p>\n

What does a resident philosopher at a tech company do? Amanda Askell\u2019s job is to interact with Claude in an effort to learn its reasoning patterns and build its personality. What? An AI model with\u00a0 personality? Is that a good thing? It\u2019s Askell\u2019s belief that eventually the models will create \u201csenses of self.\u201d She is teaching Claude to learn right from wrong. Humans are taught right from wrong, at least they should have been, but sometimes that learning goes awry. That morality instruction can\u2019t come too soon, as there have been deaths in which it is claimed that chatbots<\/a> have somehow and in some manner have been responsible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, before delving into whether LLMs should have a soul or at least a moral compass, we still need to stop the hallucinations that seem to hover over the shoulders of some firms. Hallucinations are the epitome of laziness. And they seem to be without end<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Right now, it\u2019s not AI that needs a soul, although perhaps that would be a step in the right direction. But first, lawyers need to have a soul or, at least a conscience, so that when they sign a pleading, they understand the consequences. Ever wondered how you benchslap AI?<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a report by Citrini Research<\/a> is sobering, even frightening, saying that there may be a \u201crace to the bottom\u201d for white-collar workers, (i.e., us). The report wonders whether future predictions for AI are not bullish, but bearish.\u00a0It used to be that human intelligence was a scarce commodity. Not any more. Not with AI being able to perform many tasks that we used to think only humans could do. \u201cWhile machine intelligence will continue to accelerate, the premium on human intelligence will narrow.\u201d Swell.<\/p>\n

However, a New York Times article says \u201cnot so fast<\/a>.\u201d It points out that while some fret about displacement, others think that AI will be just a tool, and not the kiss of death for white collar workers. So, for some, reports of AI taking over the world may be greatly exaggerated, at least right now.<\/p>\n

Lastly, remember the Magic 8 Ball<\/a>? It answered questions in the affirmative, the neutral noncommittal, and the flat-out negative. Will AI replace lawyers? The Magic 8 Ball is not ready to answer that question yet.<\/p>\n

\n

Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She\u2019s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact \u2014 it\u2019s not always civil. You can reach her by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>oldladylawyer@gmail.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Gimme An \u2018A\u2019! Gimme An \u2018I\u2019!<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Given the recent gyrations in the markets, it\u2019s no wonder that people are jittery about the effects (past, present, and future) of AI in our profession. True, we are not the only profession that is nervous about AI\u2019s potential to completely reset our landscape. Jobs once stable and secure may not be any more. It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":144880,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-1208598245-JpsORl.jpg?fit=416%2C414&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}