Charles Kramer, The Levison Group
In this age of the internet, the poor number two pencil has become a symbol of a quaint yesteryear. There was a time when all forms were filled out by hand, and for the early computers to be able to read the responses that had been identified, the circles or squares had to be filled in using a number two pencil. Nobody was ever sure what a number two pencil was, exactly, or how many other numbered pencils existed, but everybody knew the importance of the tool.
Today, of course, everything is done online, and choices are made with a click of a mouse or the tap of a finger. I was thinking of my number two pencil yesterday, however, after reading an article about the beta test of an online mediation software application. I was also wondering what all the litigators of tomorrow will do, once they are made obsolete, given the fact that there won't be any cabs to drive (thanks to driverless vehicles)
A company based in Montana, of all places, is testing an "early resolution" mediation application, which it claims saves people and companies substantial amounts of money and lost productivity by eliminating the human component. That is obviously an overstatement, because somebody still needs to tell the computer what's important and feed in data, but the writing is on the wall.
If the parties to a dispute agree, a representative of each with full knowledge of the facts, completes an online questionnaire of between 300 and 1600 questions, most of which require a yes or no answer. The computer than process both side's responses, compares them to publicly available data to determine reliability and veracity, and then factors in information about the relevant industries, the dispute, outside factors, and judicial and jury trends. Each side then gets a confidential report, of which the other side is not aware, which projects chances of winning or losing, identifies key facts or evidence that will be needed, and values the case for settlement purposes. The parties then negotiate a settlement, with the information in their pocket. It sort of like going into a car dealership with the Carfax report memorized.
To date, results have been mixed, mostly due to insufficient data. However, the application supposedly uses self-teaching algorithms, and is getting better and better every day. It is also being constantly force-fed studies regarding verdicts amounts, jury questionnaires, and the like.
We may or may not like it, but it would seem like mediation is the first step on the slippery slope towards computer justice. Someday in the easily envisioned future, litigants will step up, answer questionnaires', then respond to questions posed by artificial computer voices. A machine will whir, and the successful litigant will be identified, and the amount to be paid, if any, will be announced - and then immediately deducted from their APPLE-PAY account.
Welcome to tomorrow.
Under Analysis is a nationally syndicated column of the Levison Group. Charles Kramer is a principal of the St. Louis, Missouri law firm Riezman Berger PC. Comments or criticisms about this column may be sent to the Levison Group c/o this newspaper or to the Levison Group at comments@levisongroup.com.
© 2015 Under Analysis L.L.C.
Published: Fri, Jun 16, 2017
