Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Prosecutors Ask to Employ AI to Review Documents

U.S. federal prosecutors asked for the right to use AI to sort through the documents removed from Michael Cohen’s office in a five-page request to a judge, according to a story in MIT Technology Review.

According to CNN, prosecutors are investigating Cohen, the personal attorney for the President,  for his payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her alleged affair with Trump out of the news. The FBI also is reviewing emails, tax documents and business records, including communications between Trump and Cohen, for potential fraud. The court appointed Barbara Jones, an independent attorney and retired judge, to review the documents to decide what qualifies as “privileged” material, which will be excluded, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The five prosecutors asked for “Technology Assisted Review,” or TAR to sort through the files a few days after the seizure. The software will scan for records potentially covered by attorney-client privilege among the trove of documents seized earlier this month from Michael Cohen’s home and office. The prosecutors’ letter said the process was chosen to ensure that review happens in a “timely and cost-effective manner.” If the court grants the request, Jones may be able to speed up the process of review.

Retired magistrate judge Frank Maas, recommended by the prosecution to help review the documents, said the process is “at least as effective as exhaustive manual review, and far more efficient.”

If approved, this would be one of the highest profile uses of TAR, a sign that white-collar workers will have more access to AI workflow in the near future, according to the Technology Review story. It also said that AI may take paralegal jobs, as a result.

read more at technology review

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Prosecutors Ask to Employ AI to Review Documents

U.S. federal prosecutors asked for the right to use AI to sort through the documents removed from Michael Cohen’s office in a five-page request to a judge, according to a story in MIT Technology Review.

According to CNN, prosecutors are investigating Cohen, the personal attorney for the President,  for his payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her alleged affair with Trump out of the news. The FBI also is reviewing emails, tax documents and business records, including communications between Trump and Cohen, for potential fraud. The court appointed Barbara Jones, an independent attorney and retired judge, to review the documents to decide what qualifies as “privileged” material, which will be excluded, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The five prosecutors asked for “Technology Assisted Review,” or TAR to sort through the files a few days after the seizure. The software will scan for records potentially covered by attorney-client privilege among the trove of documents seized earlier this month from Michael Cohen’s home and office. The prosecutors’ letter said the process was chosen to ensure that review happens in a “timely and cost-effective manner.” If the court grants the request, Jones may be able to speed up the process of review.

Retired magistrate judge Frank Maas, recommended by the prosecution to help review the documents, said the process is “at least as effective as exhaustive manual review, and far more efficient.”

If approved, this would be one of the highest profile uses of TAR, a sign that white-collar workers will have more access to AI workflow in the near future, according to the Technology Review story. It also said that AI may take paralegal jobs, as a result.

read more at technology review