Technology, AI, & the Lesson Asimov Story

Summary: This post explains that it is good to invest in new technology, understand its usage but with a science fiction story 'Profession' by Isaac Asimov clarifies that being dependent on them is not a good idea. 

ADVICE TO LAW ASPIRANTS

Introduction & Most Important Skill।। Improve Your Language।। Being Short and Concise: Crux of Good Communication।। Clear Grasp of the Subject: Necessary for Communication।। Feynman’s Technique।। Read, Read, & Keep on Reading।। Internships, Interactions, and Networking।। Technology, AI, & the Lesson Asimov Story।। ।। 

इस चिट्ठी को हिन्दी में यहां पढ़ा जा सकता है।

Invest in Technology

You should have good idea about new technologies. It is essential that you should know, how to use them:  

• Typing, mastering a word processor;
• Using a search engine; 
• Finding case law and material for a case; 
• Being computer, tablet and mobile savvy.  

Let me briefly tell you about a case from experience that made history. This was only possible as we had heavily invested in the computers, fax machine and mobile phones.

A Case from Experience

Kalyan Singh was twice Chief Minister of UP. In his second term in late 1990s, he was dismissed by the Governor. And we (myself and Vikram Nath J.) filed a WP in the HC. We got an order from the HC reinstating him. It made history.

It is the first case that when a court reinstated a deposed head of state. It also created 2.5% vote swing in favour of NDA. This ushered Atal Bihari Vajpayee as PM for his second term that lasted 13 months.  Here, you can read about it in details.

A good book to tell you about mastering different aspects is ‘Glanville Williams: Learning The Law’. you may, if you like, omit the basic lessons of English law there but my advice is to read them. We have inherited many things from their law.  

Don't Surrender to Technology

Mastering or investing in technology is one thing but surrendering to technology is another. You should never surrender to technology. There are many instances where the AI App generated non-existent case law and one such case is [2025] EWHC 1383 (Admin) (Ayinde v. London Borough of Haringey). In the case, the court also referred to such instances, in other countries, to highlight the problem. 

If you think that as all information is available on Google and AI apps like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity can do everything for you then you are fooling yourself: nothing is farther from the truth. 

Let me illustrate my point by a science fiction story ‘Profession’ written by the greatest science fiction writer of the last century - Isaac Asimov.

Profession by Isaac Asimov

The story is set thousands of years in the future; interstellar travel has become common; other worlds have been inhabited though they have to come back to earth to take back trained people for new technologies to their world. The education pattern has also changed.

A child doesn’t have to bother about reading, till the age of eight years: he is left to enjoy his childhood. The April month following the completion of eight years, child’s mind is programmed to reading and his mental capabilities are assessed.  

Children are then left to read and enjoy for another ten years. However, the November following eighteen birthdays, their mind is programmed to do the job suited for their mind: they become registered for that job. 

Registered people can be employed by anyone on earth or on the worlds that require experts for what they are registered. Perhaps, a refiner of our world, where information is sought by googling rather than reading and artificial intelligence (AI) is perceived as a panacea of all problems.  

The story follows George Platen, who, unlike his friends, is denied the programming of mind at the age of eighteen and is sent to a mysterious institution. Here, people are reading books, and he is also given any book that he would like to read – perhaps may be a place for feeble-minded, whose mind cannot be programmed.

The story continues with his frustration for not programming him to be a computer programmer, but his friend Trevelyan became a registered metallurgist and dreams to go to Novia a class 'A' planet. 

Once in every four years, in the month of May, sponsors from the other world come to select technicians to take them to their world. Patton, not being registered in any profession, is denied entry to participate in the event. He is unhappy and frustrated at his fate and decides to watch it, where he knew that his friend Trevelyan was to participate. 

Trevelyan fails in the competition for the planet Novia of his dreams, as there was innovation introduced for which he was not trained. At this, Patton suggests, it was so easy to learn: the only thing that he had to do was to read and learn it from the books. 

I don’t wish to tell you the entire story; it is available on the Internet here: you should read it to enjoy, but the crux of the story is that creativity and intellectual independence is achieved by reading and not by relying on the technology.

Conclusion: Stay curious, keep learning. Technology should never replace reading and understanding. Surrendering to technology will dull your mind. 

In the next and the last post of this series, we will talk about most important advice.

#AdviceLawAspirants #AdviceLawStudents #Advice #SelfImprovement #IsaacAsimov #Profession