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Welcome to the 17th Edition of the Priori Digest, a weekly snapshot of what we've recently found interesting in the worlds of law and technology. This week, we look at the increasing importance of soft skills for in-house counsel, the (perhaps) surprising percentage of VCs who studied the humanities and social sciences as undergraduates, dystopian “emotional surveillance technology” in China and the philosophical questions surrounding AI art. Enjoy!
What we're reading
- Sam Fernandez, General Counsel for the LA Dodgers, on how his role as GC for a major sports team has been transformed by technology
- Google loses a consequential “right to be forgotten” case in the UK. The judge in the case determined it was not in the “public interest” for stories relating to two businessmen’s past crimes from many years ago to be kept online
- Daniel Susskind, Fellow of Economics at Oxford and author of “The Future of The Professions” on the three myths about the future of work and why they aren’t true
- Is a painting or a piece of music created by artificial intelligence algorithms really art?
- The number of sessions dedicated to “soft skills” at CLOC highlights how these abilities are becoming increasingly important for in-house legal practitioners
- In state-owned businesses across China, employees are wearing caps that monitor brain activity and emotions. This Orwellian “emotional surveillance technology” helps employers identify mood shifts so companies can increase productivity
What in the weird
- In South Korea, there is a “finders keepers” law, but it does not apply to employees when they are performing their work duties. A cleaner at an airport who found seven bars of gold in a bin worth $330,000 learned this the hard way
- Citizens of Uzbekistan who do not use their kitchen gardens efficiently — examples of “inefficiency” include not growing crops or keeping farm animals — will have their land tax tripled
By the numbers
- 54.4: The percentage of the world that uses the internet, as of December 31, 2017. To be considered a user, a person must satisfy two requirements: (1) They must have available access to an internet connection point; and (2) they must have the basic knowledge required to use the web
- 4 billion: The amount of money (USD) that blockchain is estimated to have delivered in added value or technological innovation to businesses in 2017
- 36: The percentage of VCs that studied the humanities or social sciences as undergraduates. This compares with 27% that studied engineering & technology, 18% that studied business/finance and 8% that pursued formal sciences such as math and computer science
Priori in the press
- The award-winning contract review automation software company, LawGeex, has highlighted the perspectives of eight women who are disrupting the legal industry. We were honored to be included in such illustrious company. Read the piece here
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