SONG: “Everything Appears to be in Order”.
ARTIST: grant.
SOURCE: “AI Pioneer ROSS Intelligence Lands Its First Big Law Clients,” The American Lawyer, 6 May 2016, as used in the post First firm to hire a virtual attorney. It’ll be handling bankruptcies….
ABSTRACT:
There’s a SoundFont drum set on here, but everything else is either a voice or a bass. Lots of bass. Much bass.
I’ve been playing bass lately because I’m doing something with friends which I’ll be referring to more later (but it’s been a hard year for rock’n’roll, have you noticed?). Home recordists have not yet been replaced by artificial intelligences, but it’s only a matter of time.
It was hard to resist this story because, well, it’s a story, isn’t it. Lawyers and legal researchers – professionals – being (not yet, but almost) rendered obsolete by a machine that’s simply good at analyzing databases.
Personally, I don’t think we really have to worry about SkyNet until they start replacing plumbers. But that’s still a ways off… isn’t it?
I honestly didn’t expect this song to get all punk rock – I thought it’d be sort of ambiently mournful. But no, it turned all crunchy on me. Interesting how the process keeps surprising one….
LYRICS:
(C)
In subsection C of section 5 of paragraph 8 of the letter –
(G)
it said to look at this event as an opportunity
Paragraph 9 said the partners in the firm could keep our key cards
Because the combinations had all been changed.
(E-F-C-C)
It was signed by the corporation.
Which had become a legal person.
There was a duplicate in email. It said:
—
CH: (C Am F C Am F, in threes)
Everything appears to be in order
Everything appears to be in order.
Everything appears to be order.
(C Am F C – C Am F C)
Except you.
Except you.
—
(C)I was not the only one who had driven (C)in despite the letter
(G)Someone brought a box of donuts to (C)share in the parking lot
(C)That cute new intern looked at me as (C) if I’d have answers
And I (G)shrugged, and (F)looked for the (C)I.T. guy.
Yeah I shrugged and looked for the I.T. guy.
(E-F-C-C)
It was signed by the corporation.
Which had become a legal person.
There was a duplicate in email. It said:
—
CH: (C Am F C Am F, in threes)
Everything appears to be in order
Everything appears to be in order.
Everything appears to be order…
(C Am F C – C Am F C)
Everything… Except you.
Except you.—
BR:
(G) When my father started the firm
(F)There was no such thing as a (C-Am) personal computer
(G) The year I passed the bar
(F) Our office got a (C-Am) LEXIS-NEXIS account
(G)And when the first AI entered (F)beta …
(Am-G-F-F)…we were on the list
(Am-G-F-F) We thought of all the billable hours(Am-G -F-F) We let it do our research
(Am-G-F-F) Financial databases
(Am-G-F-F) Employment regulations
(Am-G-F-F) Budget considerations
(Am-G-F-F) Programmed in ordinary language.
(Am-G-F-F) Handled communications.
—
(E-F-C)
It was signed by the corporation.
Which had become a legal person.
There was a duplicate in email. It said:
—
CH: (C Am F C Am F, in threes) (x2)
Everything appears to be in order.
Everything appears to be in order.
Everything appears to be order…
Everything appears to be in order.
Everything appears to be in order.
Everything appears to be order…
Everything appears to be order…
(C Am F C – C Am F C)
Except you.
Except you.
Except you.