Analyse this: AI faster at evaluating contracts than human lawyers in contest

Sixteen lawyers competed against an AI program based on Alibaba Damo Academy’s Alice deep learning framework. AI found more risks in legal contracts than lawyers by themselves, but the best results come from humans and AI working together. — SCMP

When a group of 16 lawyers and law students met in a small auditorium at Zhejiang University’s Guanghua Law School last week, they were facing a unique opponent: an artificial intelligence (AI) program designed by Alibaba Group Holding’s Damo Academy.

In the first competition of its kind in China, humans were pitted against AI on Friday in reviewing contracts, one of the most common tasks conducted at law firms. The AI program passed with flying colours, sending its results within a minute after the competition started, state-owned newspaper China Daily reported. The program recorded an accuracy rate of 96%, beating the lawyers.