No. 26: The Art of Contract Drafting in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A Comparative Study Based on US, UK and Austrian Law

Details

Author(s):
Publish Date:
February 6, 2017
Publication Title:
TTLF Working Papers
Publisher:
Stanford Law School
Format:
Working Paper
Citation(s):
  • Irene Ng (Huang Ying), The Art of Contract Drafting in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A Comparative Study Based on US, UK and Austrian Law, TTLF Working Papers No. 26, Stanford-Vienna Transatlantic Technology Law Forum (2017).
Related Organization(s):

Abstract

Contract drafting is a skill that is traditionally mastered by lawyers. However, with the boom in legal technology, computers may soon become proficient in this as well. In the last few years, much software that addresses contract drafting and preparation has been developed and released into the market; some examples include proofreading assistants, clause checking, and smart contracts driven by blockchain technology. However, can machines – in particular artificial intelligence (“AI”) – be competent enough to eventually take over the function of drafting contracts from lawyers? And if so, what are the legal, economic and social consequences of this ‘robot lawyer’? This paper hopes to provide readers with an overview of how AI and contract drafting may function together, and analyze the impact of such computer generated contracts and computer generated contract software from a legal, economic and societal perspective.