The Ambition Effect

The prevailing narrative surrounding Generative AI in the legal sector is one of unprecedented efficiency. The sales pitch is seductive in its simplicity: automate routine drafting and research, compress hours into minutes, and liberate attorneys for higher-value strategic thinking.

Yet, as the initial wave of adoption settles, a distinct counter-narrative is emerging

OpenAI’s Sam Altman has recently reacted with irritation and defensiveness when confronted in podcast and interview settings about the massive contrast between OpenAI’s annual revenue, reportedly between $13–$20 billion, and its commitment to spend over $1.4 trillion on compute and data center contracts over the next several years.

In a recent interview, Altman dismissed

Multiple reputable sources are reporting that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently told employees—via a leaked internal memo—that Google’s newest advances in AI could “create some temporary economic headwinds” for OpenAI, even as he tried to reassure staff that the company is “catching up fast” and remains well-positioned for the long run.

Altman’s message reportedly

The relentless, frenetic excitement surrounding Artificial Intelligence feels familiar. For anyone who remembers the turn of the millennium, it’s a clear echo of the dot-com bubble, a time of speculation about a new technology completely detached from business fundamentals.

Back then, optimism for an internet-driven economy sent stock prices for companies like AOL to astronomical

Richard Susskind’s new book How to Think About AI: A Guide for the Perplexed explains how thought patterns affect openness to AI:

The “process vs. outcome” distinction.

Richard Susskind: How To Think About AI
How To Think About AI

Chapter 3, “Process-thinking and Outcome-thinking,” sets the stage for following chapters by contrasting the views of two heavyweight public intellectuals: Henry Kissinger and

With the selection of Big Thinker Cory Doctorow this year ABA Techshow continued its practice of featuring brilliant keynote speakers. Longtime Internet users will recognize the pattern Doctorow described. AOL became worthless. Yahoo became irrelevant. The content-to-ad ratio on Facebook is overwhelming. Doctorow calls this predictable degradation “En****tification.”

Danielle Braff‘s article in

One of Dennis Kennedy's fine books.
One of DK’s Fine Books

I can’t think of anyone who has contributed more to the advancement of legal technology than Dennis Kennedy. I’ve known and respected Dennis a long time and was privileged to collaborate with with him for several years, so it’s great to see that the American Legal Technology Awards has given