Smith, Michael L., (September 04, 2024). 12 Belmont Law Review (Forthcoming 2025), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4946479 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4946479 – “Faced with optimistic accounts of technological innovations, businesses, law firms, and governments face pressure to rush into adopting these technologies and enjoying the increased efficiency, reduced costs, and other benefits that are promised. This essay sets forth reasons to pause before adopting such technologies. First, new technology is often contrasted with unrealistically dire portrayals of the status quo, which leads to exaggerated accounts of how beneficial the new technology will be. Second, overconfidence in technological fixes, as well as tendencies against revisiting and critiquing traditional ways of doing things may lead to an entrenchment of harmful systems. Third, the institutional incentives and pressures in which technology is employed may affect how that technology is used—leading to unanticipated consequences for those who only consider how technology functions in non-legal settings. While I urge reasons to pause, I do not counsel wholesale rejection of technological innovation. Those considering adopting new technologies should, at the outset, demand transparency from those who manufacture and market technology, particularly the avoidance of imprecise terminology. Developing policies in advance to review and audit new technology may also ensure that those adopting it get what they pay for, and may help mitigate unanticipated harmful consequences. Finally, contracts with those offering new technology should have frequent renewal opportunities built in to allow those adopting the technology to demand action or back out of adopting the technology should promised benefits never materialize.”