A Risky Vision: an AI General Counsel

We have created Risky specifically for non-lawyers in companies. While the industry focuses on developing AI-powered tools to assist legal practitioners in working more efficiently, Risky’s mission is to autonomously complete specific legal tasks for the end user. Soon, AI will handle most legal work in companies autonomously, leaving general counsels and in-house lawyers to deal only with the most strategic, one-off, and high-risk matters.

We are on the brink of significant changes in how organisations operate. Within the next 2-4 years, the first company worth one billion dollars will be founded by a single entrepreneur. This individual will rely on various AI assistants to achieve success. Many of these assistants are already available. We can use generic tools, such as ChatGPT, or purpose-specific AI assistants to create content, design websites, develop applications, manage marketing and sales activities, provide customer support, and more. However, one critical element is missing – legal support. This is where Risky comes in. Risky will provide legal support from pre-incorporation to scaling the company into a large organisation.

Organisations using AI assistants will gain unimaginable advantages over their competitors. Efficiency in handling legal tasks and managing compliance will help them maintain a competitive edge. AI significantly accelerates their ability to operate in the market and outpace the competition. Sales representatives will be able to provide contract drafts, review them, negotiate, and amend them on the fly. HR professionals will receive instant advice on how to respond to employees' actions. Board members will have any legal questions answered and explained during their meetings. Matters will no longer be stuck with legal. AI assistants can act proactively, analyse the organisation’s data and behaviour, and warn of potential non-compliance.

Sceptics argue that ethics and attorney regulations prevent AI from autonomously performing legal work. Rather than replacing human lawyers, AI should enhance their capabilities. This reasoning is flawed. A significant portion of legal tasks in companies can be executed more efficiently by AI than by human lawyers. Corporate legal work primarily revolves around data. Lawyers must possess a deep understanding of the law and familiarity with market practices and customs. Additionally, they need insights into the company's circumstances and information. Applying the law to these situations results in legal advice or deliverables. No one compares data at scale better than AI.

We believe most legal work within companies will become autonomous through AI, but we do not foresee AI replacing lawyers entirely. Litigation will continue to be managed by humans, as it entails more than simply applying the law to facts; it involves making value judgments, which AI is unable to perform. Companies also make value judgments reflected in their strategic choices, ethical principles, and the visions they wish to pursue. It will be people who instruct AI on appropriate conduct. Nonetheless, we anticipate that extensive in-house legal teams will diminish, leading to a smaller group of top in-house lawyers whose roles will align more closely with the board – a trend we've witnessed for several years. Daily legal work will be conducted autonomously by AI.

Risky beats ChatGPT in legal work, and this will hold true even after the emergence of "artificial general intelligence" (if it hasn't already). First, for an AI legal assistant to deliver high-quality solutions, it must access sensitive organisational data. Companies will remain cautious about granting access to such information and seek to restrict it. Second, tailored solutions will consistently outperform general ones. Third, advancements in general AI models will enhance Risky further.

Risky is available today, ready to take on any legal challenge. Risky analyses the task and decides if it is competent to provide a solution. If that is the case, Risky provides all the necessary deliverables and explanations. If not, it engages the most competent in-house lawyer for this particular situation. This marks the onset of our commitment to fostering a new era of company-building. Join us on this journey. Get Risky today.