Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Latest By
Category:


Armor
Artificial Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work

"I think we're still on that topic, still trying to figure out what computers are, how they change us, why we use them."
- Neal Stephenson

Law Expert System (LEX)  
  Software capable of rendering a legal opinion.  

Ranjit arrives a few minutes later, carrying a CD; he mimes staggering under its weight. "Latest set of amendments to the UNHCR regulations. It's going to be a long day."

I groan. "I'm having dinner with Rachel tonight. Why don't we just feed the bloody thing to LEX and ask for a summary?"

"And get disbarred at the next audit? No, thanks." The Law Society has strict rules on the use of pseudo-intelligent software - terrified of putting ninety percent of its members out of work. The irony is, they use state-of-the art software, programmed with all the forbidden knowledge, to scrutinize each practice's expert systems and make sure that they haven't been taught more than they're permitted to know."

"There must be twenty firms, at least, who've taught their systems tax law -"

Sure. And they have programmers on seven-figure salaries to cover their tracks."

Technovelgy from The Moat, by Greg Egan.
Published by Aurealis in 1991
Additional resources -

This is an early reference to this idea in science fiction. However, the first "knowledge-based systems" for the law appeared in the early 1980's. The earliest speculations by lawyers dates from a 1949 paper by Lee Loevinger titled Jurimetrics. The Next Step Forward.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing this item out.

See also the law clerk robot from Frederik Pohl's 1954 novel The Midas Plague, the lawyer program from David Brin's 1990 novel Earth and the virtual counsel from Greg Bear's 2007 novel Quantico.

Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from The Moat
  More Ideas and Technology by Greg Egan
  Tech news articles related to The Moat
  Tech news articles related to works by Greg Egan

Law Expert System (LEX)-related news articles:
  - Meet 'Ross', Your Watson-Based Legal Researcher
  - AI Lawyer 'Ross' Gets First Job
  - LawGeex AI Beats 20 Top Lawyers
  - Lazy Lawyer's Trust In ChatGPT Misplaced

Articles related to Culture
Poul Anderson's 'Brain Wave'
Waymo Cars Shout At Each Other, Autonomously
Cognify - A Prison Of The Mind We've Seen Before In SF
Robot Preachers Found To Undermine Religious Commitment

Want to Contribute an Item? It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add it here.

<Previous
Next>

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

 

 

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Science Fiction in the News

Biohybrid Robots Made Of Living And Synthetic Materials
'If the biological robots were not living creatures, they were certainly very good imitations.'

Drug Induces Hibernation-Like State In Humans
'... drugged and chilled and stowed in sleep tanks.'

Poul Anderson's 'Brain Wave'
"Everybody and his dog, it seemed, wanted to live out in the country; transportation and communication were no longer isolating factors."

AI Note-Taking From Google Meet
'... the new typewriter that could be talked to, and which transposed the spoken sound into typed words.'

Qore IcePlates Are Personal Cooling Suits
'... underneath they consisted of networks of cooling tubes against the skin.'

Waymo Cars Shout At Each Other, Autonomously
'My cars talk to one another. I have no doubt about it...'

Seeing Faces On Grains Of Sand (AI Pareidolia)
'... the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell.'

More SF in the News

More Beyond Technovelgy

Home | Glossary | Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.