‘And like that … he’s gone …he became a myth, a spook story.’ ‘The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.’ These great lines from the film ‘The Usual Suspects” came to mind during a recent legal AI panel discussion. The panel were well informed and discussing the provocative theme of whether AI will pose a threat to lawyers. Through their losing control, and should they be afraid? Nearly everyone on the panel, as well as those in the audience talked of ‘AI making decisions’. Now this was not unusual, go to any number of discussions on AI and they’ll follow this pattern. For many AI is entirely ephemeral. They know it’s increasingly used in E-discovery and contract automation. Leading them to fear it could be coming for them next. But they have no mental model or clear language for discussing AI. So there is a lack of clarity, and in the fog of confusion, the myth or spook story of AI as a potential slayer of lawyer’s livelihoods has grown. ...