Attendees
at
CES
2025
in
Las
Vegas.
(Photo
by
Artur
Widak/Anadolu
via
Getty
Images)
Much
of
the
buzz
at
CES
and
other
tech
conferences
recently
is
about
agentic
AI
and
the
use
of
AI
agents
to
perform
a
variety
of
tasks
for
us
poor
humans.
I
have
talked
about
AI
agents
in
articles
here
and
here.
So,
it
might
be
helpful
to
stop
for
a
minute
and
talk
about
what
agentic
AI
is
and
what
AI
agents
could
really
do
for
lawyers
and
legal
professionals.
On
Wednesday,
a
panel
at
CES
attempted
to
tackle
the
former;
I
will
talk
some
about
the
latter
in
a
moment.
What
Is
Agentic
AI?
Why
Does
It
Matter?
The
presentation
was
entitled
The
Rise
of
AI
Agents.
The
panel
was
composed
of
Michael
Anderson,
general
manager
of
Amelis.ai,
Adam
Dumey,
VP
of
World
Wide
Technology,
Debroah
Matteliano,
global
head
of
restaurants
at
Amazon,
and
Caroline
Reppert,
technical
director,
National
Retail
Federation.
Anderson
walked
us
through
the
concept
of
an
agentic
AI,
which
is
an
AI
platform
that
can
respond
to
multiple
inquiries
in
one
prompt
and
then
take
action
based
on
those
prompts.
It
can
sort
thoughts
and
understand
goals
and
actions.
Says
Anderson:
An
agentic
agent
“provides
a
high
degree
of
autonomy
that
goes
beyond
traditional
systems
and
are
more
intelligent,
adaptable,
and
resourceful
than
other
AI
tools.”
Agentic
agents
are
smart,
adaptable,
resourceful,
and
can
make
decisions
and
recommendations.
It’s
critical
that
they
also
know
when
to
refer
the
issue
to
a
human
and
provide
an
easy
way
to
do
that.
The
more
important
thing
for
most
of
us,
though,
is
what
agents
can
do
for
us.
Anderson
gave
an
example.
An
AI
agent
could
be
given
the
following
prompt:
I
need
to
reset
my
password
since
I
want
to
look
at
my
insurance
policy
and
see
how
high
my
deductible
is
since
I
am
considering
a
new
plan
for
open
enrollment.
I
am
about
to
have
a
child
and
am
curious
what
is
the
right
plan
to
choose.
Obviously,
this
is
a
complicated
question
that
cannot
be
answered
by
an
LLM
using
standard
Gen
AI.
It
would
require
the
AI
to
analyze
the
situation,
look
several
places,
and
reason
through
the
necessary
steps
the
inquirer
needed
to
undertake.
AI
Agent
Examples
Anderson
suggested
that
an
AI
agent
could
provide
the
following
answer:
No
problem,
and
congratulations!
I’ve
sent
you
an
email
to
reset
your
password,
along
with
a
login
link
to
open
enrollment.
Your
current
deductible
is
$10,000,
but
as
a
new
parent,
a
low
deductible
plan
is
best
considering
likely
frequent
visits.
If
you
want
to
learn
more
about
a
$2,000
deductible
plan,
I
can
transfer
you
to
our
specialist.
Anderson
also
mentioned
another
thing
an
AI
agent
could
do
that
hit
home.
Most
of
us
here
at
CES
have
had
trouble
navigating
the
various
venues,
hotels,
schedules,
and
the
always-present
casinos.
An
AI
agent
could
create
a
schedule,
make
some
recommendations,
tell
us
what
the
timeline
would
work
for
us,
and
direct
us
where
to
go
quickly
and
efficiently.
All
with
a
single
prompt.
Other
uses
cited
by
the
panel
include
ordering
retail
goods
by
sorting
through
options
and
sizes
and
then
seamlessly
ordering
what
we
want.
A
personalized
guide
to
health
care
along
with
the
ability
to
schedule
appointments
and
prescriptions.
An
AI
agent
that
could
handle
customer
concerns
and
issues:
We
have
all
screamed
at
the
phone
when
some
bot
provides
no
help.
But
a
good
AI
agent
could
perform
the
functions
and
get
us
to
a
human
quickly
and
easily.
Education
is
another
field;
having
the
ability
to
talk
through
what
a
student
doesn’t
understand
and
provide
help
would
improve
learning.
The
panelists
all
believe
that
in
just
a
few
years,
we
will
all
have
our
very
own
digital
personal
assistant
or
concierge
that
can
take
care
of
various
tasks
that
now
occupy
chunks
of
our
time.
Like
ordering
my
coffee
for
me
to
pick
up,
canceling
my
doctor’s
appointment,
calling
my
wife
and
letting
her
know
I
will
be
late,
and
giving
me
some
good
take-out
dinner
options.
How
AI
Agents
Could
Redefine
Routine
Legal
Tasks
But
what
about
for
law?
After
all,
we
are
a
human
business,
and
people
expect
human
interactions,
right?
Not
so
fast.
Not
long
ago,
a
study
was
done
on
responses
to
medical
questions.
A
human
doctor
answered
some
of
the
questions,
and
some
were
answered
by
Gen
AI.
Those
whose
questions
were
answered
by
Gen
AI
were
happier.
Why?
Gen
AI
was
more
empathetic
and
spoke
in
plain
terms,
addressing
the
real
concerns
of
the
questioner.
I
can
see
the
same
thing
in
legal.
Clients
often
have
questions
and
concerns,
yet
lawyers
talk
over
their
heads,
aren’t
empathetic,
and
don’t
take
the
time
to
address
real
concerns.
Or
if
they
do,
the
bill
for
the
time
spent
is
through
the
roof.
An
AI
agent
that
could
answer
inquiries
and
then
take
steps
like
sending
information,
providing
status,
and
giving
real-time
bill
estimates.
This
would
be
valuable
and
would
address
client
pain
points.
Client
intake,
bill
preparations,
invoicing,
and
routine
correspondence
can
all
be
done
by
an
AI
agent.
Lawyers
would
also
benefit
from
a
digital
personal
agent.
For
example,
a
lawyer
might
prompt
an
AI
agent
as
follows:
“Agent,
please
open
a
file
in
the
name
of
John
Smith
to
prepare
a
will.
Draft
an
engagement
letter
for
me
to
review
using
standard
language.
Given
Mr.
Smith’s
assets,
a
description
of
which
I
am
uploading,
please
prepare
a
draft
leaving
most
of
the
property
to
his
children
and
his
favorite
charity.
Then
schedule
a
conference
with
me
and
Mr.
Smith
to
go
over
the
final
documents
and
add
it
to
my
schedule.
Oh,
and
send
a
birthday
greeting
to
Mrs.
Smith
for
next
Monday.”
Think
of
the
time
saved.
Think
of
the
improved
service.
Think
happier
clients.
It
also
frees
up
lawyers
from
doing
tasks
for
which
they
are
overqualified.
Our
ethical
rules,
by
the
way,
require
us
to
bill
reasonably.
AI
agents
who
presumably
would
not
bill
by
the
hour
would
reduce
bills
for
the
client
and/or
eliminate
non-billable
time
for
the
lawyer
and
legal
professional.
The
Downside
of
AI
Agents:
Job
Displacement
and
Inequality
Of
course,
as
with
any
technology,
there
is
a
downside.
AI
agents
will
replace
human
administrative
assistants.
It
will
replace
all
sorts
of
work
humans
do.
And
the
humans
replaced
will
be
the
ones
who
can
least
afford
to
lose
their
jobs.
As
a
profession
and
society,
that’s
something
we
need
to
think
of
and
prepare
for.
We
need
to
look
for
ways
to
find
other
tasks
for
those
displaced
by
helping
them
develop
skills
that
could
be
useful
in
the
brave
new
world.
Technology
Has
No
Soul,
But
Humans
Do
There
is
an
electronic
sign
on
a
building
overlooking
the
Las
Vegas
Civic
Center
that
asks,
“Technology
has
no
soul.
Or
does
it?
“
Technology
has
no
soul.
Only
us
humans
do.
And
we
need
to
think
about
our
fellow
humans
when
we
engage
in
technology
that
can
do
so
much
and
displace
so
many.
Stephen
Embry
is
a
lawyer,
speaker,
blogger
and
writer.
He
publishes TechLaw
Crossroads,
a
blog
devoted
to
the
examination
of
the
tension
between
technology,
the
law,
and
the
practice
of
law.