The AI That Stunned Lawyers – Greg Baker

Picture a computer scientist having a late-night chat with AI about his career. Now picture that conversation leading him to take on his own employer in a landmark case at Australia’s Fair Work Commission, with AI as his only legal advisor.

That’s exactly what happened recently to our guest this week, Greg Baker. And he won.

Greg is a computer scientist, university lecturer, consultant and musician. He has written eight books, including translations of the Heidi series and a book of tech-geek poetry. He has also written three film scores, wrote clauses for the Australia-USA Free Trade Agreement and has played on stage at the Sydney Opera House with The Piano Guys.

Greg represented himself against Macquarie University’s legal team in a case about whether he was eligible to be made permanent staff rather than remain a casual. His victory made headlines across Australia. As Greg tells us, some lawyers have since reached out to him in “sheer, abject terror.”

In this fascinating conversation we cover:

• The specific approach Greg used to get the best out of ChatGPT for his case
• How AI built him winning arguments where no legal precedent existed, in what is believed to be a world-first example of AI doing this 
• Why long back-and-forth chats with AI deliver less than optimal results
• The one aspect of white collar jobs that Greg believes AI can never take on, and 
• Why he thinks children who are under 5 years old today may grow up as “psychological aliens” to us given their likely early exposure to AI. 

Greg also explains why he expects AI to exceed human intelligence in white collar work within the next five years, and what that could mean for the rest of us. 

Whether you’re curious about your rights at work, or about what AI could do for you when the stakes are high, don’t miss this conversation with the thoughtful and witty Greg Baker.

 

Useful Links

Greg’s Substack

Link for updates on Greg’s forthcoming book ‘An Infinite Supply of Someone’ detailing how he won his legal case

Machines of Loving Grace, the essay by Dario Amodei that Greg references

 

Subscribe to Don’t Stop Us Now – AI Edition wherever you get your podcasts

Share this episode with a friend or colleague curious about what AI could mean for their work