2026-02-13 –, VYAS - 1 - Room#VY102
Elevator Pitch:
We work with the worlds top legal firms and although machine learning has always been the central part of the automated review process, the recent shift in generative AI has definitely brought people back to conference rooms to understand and react on what they did not see coming so fast.
Abstract:
The legal industry has long wrestled with Artificial Intelligence. This talk charts the evolution of legal AI, beginning with the "Hype 1.0" era of early machine learning, characterized by tools like Technology Assisted Review (TAR). Adoption was slow, met with resistance, and limited to niche, high-cost applications.
We will analyze what was learned from this phase: namely, that AI solutions must be domain-specific, prove a clear ROI, and address deep-seated issues of data security and ethical compliance. This foundation was critical, but it was the arrival of Generative AI (GenAI) that triggered "Hype 2.0," fundamentally shifting the focus, thanks to unprecedented accessibility and natural language capabilities, from incremental efficiency to truly transformative power in drafting, research, and analysis.
The discussion will pivot to the current state of adoption, examining how firms and in-house teams are responsibly navigating the risks (hallucinations, client confidentiality) while leveraging tools for high-value tasks. Finally, we will look ahead at the upcoming changes: how GenAI is fundamentally reshaping the legal value chain, demanding new skills (prompt engineering), changing billing models (flat fees over billable hours), and setting the stage for the "AI Lawyer" of the future—one who is augmented, not replaced, but strategically elevated by technology. We will explore how data and data security becomes important, how do we create contexts that contain highly sensitive information (only known to certani parties) and how is performance measured considering there is no room for hallucinations in the legal domain. We will go through how retreival for legal works, how data security and integrity works, how to design prompts for legal AI systems and where it is making strides and where do we see a lot of friction. Do markets and languages matter.
Attendees will leave with a clear roadmap to mitigate current risks, capitalize on GenAI's strategic advantages, and ensure they remain at the forefront of the transforming legal profession.
Ashwin has 6 years of experience working in AI and machine learning. He has worked on everything from traditional machine learning, computer vision to language models. His work has has been recognized as impactful and result driven throughout his career.
Ashwin has worked in the past to deliver solutions for Amazon, many midsized companies in different domains. He currently is resposible for driving and delivering generative AI strategies for the worlds top legal firms.
Ashwin has also guided 10+ startups in their series A journey and successfully helped them turn ideas into products. His spare time is spent with family, friends and playing sports.