Did you know that the famous ancient Greek philosopher Socrates was not a fan of the idea of recording thoughts in writing? In his work Phaidros, Plato tells the myth of Socrates, Thamus, and Theuth. According to this, Theuth, the Egyptian god of invention, presents his most important invention, writing, to King Thamus. Theuth believes that writing is a blessing that will strengthen memory and wisdom. However, Thamus raises his famous objection: Writing creates forgetfulness in the souls of those who learn. According to him, those who rely on written words will lose the internal effort of memory and understanding and will only have an image of knowledge. For Socrates, writing is not an aid to memory but to remembrance. It does not present true wisdom, only an illusion of it.

This famous myth shows us that humanity has always approached new technologies with suspicion, has been afraid to leave their comfort zone, and has thought that these technologies would only dull humanity. Yet how would humanity have developed so much without writing? Perhaps, in the end, Theuth was right. Interestingly, today's society's view of artificial intelligence is divided, just like in this myth. So, who should we be: Theuth or Socrates?

Last week we discussed what Legal Tech is, this week we will focus on the human dimension of these technologies. One morning you come to the office and see that artificial intelligence has finished your pleading before you and written it much better than you, what would you feel? This question has become one of the questions that has occupied lawyers' minds the most recently. According to a study conducted by Juris Education in August 2025, one out of every five lawyers' greatest fear related to their career is that artificial intelligence will fill their position. But how accurate are these fears?

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: ASSISTANT OR COMPETITOR?

Today, it would be accurate to say that artificial intelligence plays a supporting rather than a competitive role in the legal sector. Most lawyers benefit from AI tools in routine tasks such as document review, legal research, contract analysis, and summarization. For example, AI-based programs can scan thousands of pages of documents in minutes to identify important points or summarize hundreds of precedent decisions. Thanks to this automation, while lawyers can delegate mechanical tasks, they continue to do the truly value-added work themselves.

According to a study conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute in October 2024; with today's technology, only 23% of a lawyer's work is suitable for automation. That is, a significant portion of our work still depends on human reasoning and creativity. With AI automation, repetitive tasks are accelerated; researching, writing, finding a decision that "fits perfectly" to your subject, preparing contract drafts become easier, but humans still have the final say in matters that require evaluation. In short, today's AI tools are intelligent assistants for lawyers.

NOT DISAPPEARANCE BUT RESHAPING

Humanity approached all technological innovations with concern at first in every area of life and then realized that technology, in the long term, was transformative, not destructive. Didn't the legal world experience similar fears when moving from typewriters to computers and Word? Indeed, the legal sector has always embraced technologies that increase efficiency while transitioning from typewriters to word processors and from libraries to online legal databases; what mattered was that these tools did not eliminate the core values of the profession. A similar process is happening with AI today: Job descriptions and the way we work daily are changing, but the profession is not disappearing.

What has become truly important are the new roles and skills that are beginning to emerge in the transformation process. For example, "Legal Tech" specialists in law firms and data privacy or AI ethics consultants are increasingly gaining importance. In fact, there is a growing need for lawyers who could be called "prompt engineers"—those who use AI tools effectively to get correct outputs.

According to The Atlantic, the profile of future lawyers will include those with high technical literacy and innovation skills who are open to change. Just as a lawyer who refused to use a typewriter in the past fell behind the profession over time, today's lawyer will also fall behind their profession by resisting technology. According to David Deming, an economist at Harvard, not just the legal sector but every sector will be shaped by the difference between those who step back from AI and those who embrace it. This is not a disappearance but rather a redefinition of the profession.

THE REAL THREAT IS NOT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

There's a frequently said phrase: AI won't replace lawyers; but lawyers using AI will replace those who don't. The real danger is not AI but failing to keep pace with developing technology.

Today, for a lawyer, AI literacy is not a luxury but a professional necessity. In fact, approaches have emerged in the United States where the American Bar Association's Professional Model Rules of Conduct, under Section 1.1, view AI knowledge as part of lawyers' professional competence.

Artificial intelligence is no longer a choice for lawyers and has become the center of competition. While AI-supported tools can scan thousands of pages of documents in minutes instead of hours, teams stuck with old methods face wasted time and effort. Law firms that fail to adapt to technology face not only productivity problems but also the risk of losing clients in the long term.

So artificial intelligence doesn't take our jobs but takes away our habits, transforms the long-standing ways of working. At this point, what lawyers must do is learn to manage change rather than resist it. Rather than being afraid of AI, we must learn to use it, to keep the steering wheel in our hands. Failure to adapt to change is a much greater threat than AI itself in today's world.

CONCLUSION

From all these discussions, one thing is clear: No matter how much artificial intelligence develops, the importance of human qualities does not diminish. Artificial intelligence can increase a lawyer's speed and analytical capacity but cannot replace empathy, intuition, conscience, persuasion skills, and creative thinking. While AI's analytical speed supports us in tasks like processing high-volume data and preparing routine documents, skills like negotiating at the negotiation table and determining strategy in a case will continue to be indispensable areas for lawyers. Where a machine's coldness cannot reach, humans will continue to reach.

In short, AI won't take our jobs; but it will change how we do that job. It must be remembered that law, at its core, is about human stories. The outcome of a case is determined as much by human factors as by legal articles. Artificial intelligence can be an analytical genius, but gaining a client's trust and a judge's approval, nurturing faith in justice, determining what is just still rests on humanity's shoulders. For this reason, we can look to the future with optimism: AI will not destroy our profession but will be a tool that transforms and improves how the profession is practiced, as long as we can hold this tool's steering wheel skillfully. At the forefront of skillfully holding this steering wheel is the protection of client confidentiality while using artificial intelligence. Actually, how will we protect confidentiality while using artificial intelligence, which is almost a black box? Until we answer this question next week, farewell!