Thomson Reuters announced today that they have entered into a collaboration with IBM to deliver cognitive technology solutions to their customers. Before the legal profession falls into a swoon  of anticipation —lets be clear. The press release makes no mention of the legal market in particular. Thomson Reuters is a very large multinational organization that operates in many sectors, not just legal. It is an exciting development nonetheless. Westlaw has been a pioneer in natural language research technologies. Combining  Augmented Intelligence  with Westlaw’s terabytes of structured and coded legal and business data suggests this could be a game changing combination.

This “infiltration” approach to the legal market may make more sense than trying to sell a custom Watson project to law firms.  I recently spoke to a seasoned technology sales executive who voiced frustration at the difficulty of selling high-ticket, innovative technologies to law firms. Law firms are reluctant to invest big bucks in speculative technologies — even when those technologies can promise long term rewards. Another law firm consultant described law firms as suffering from a “let’s be second” mentality. No one really wants to be the first to make large investments in the unknown.  IBM Watson technology is very expensive. Every firm would basically have to build and train their own  custom iteration of Watson. To my knowledge only one or two of the Global 100 law firms have invested money in exploring Watson technology. I am not aware of any actual deployments.

A “passive” introduction of Watson technology through an installed based of  Westlaw products will broaden the understanding of augmented intelligence applications in the practice of law. Perhaps IBM is “softening the ground” in hopes of selling custom Watson solutions to law firms in the future.

Here is some key language from the press release:

Thomson Reuters will explore the application of Watson technology to key
industry market opportunities to leverage deep content analytics,
natural language processing, decision support and evidence-based
learning to enable Thomson Reuters customers to derive greater insight
and workflow efficiency.

Here is the Press Release:

 Thomson Reuters and IBM Collaborate to Deliver Watson Cognitive Computing Technology

Oct 08, 2015
Thomson Reuters and IBM Collaborate to Deliver Watson Cognitive Computing Technology

Thomson Reuters to deploy Watson technology to enhance customer solutions

NEW YORK — Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced they have entered into an agreement to enhance customer solutions across Thomson Reuters using Watson.

The collaboration underscores the ongoing commitment by Thomson Reuters to deliver innovative technology solutions within specific industry domains to its customers via its in-house technology development, as well as through key strategic collaborations.

“Thomson Reuters helps customers make critical business decisions by applying cutting-edge technology and domain expertise to complex sets of data and information,” said Brian Scanlon, chief strategy officer, Thomson Reuters. “Our work with IBM to apply Watson is a natural complement to our market-leading customer solutions.”

“Working with Thomson Reuters, and their vast trove of data, is an incredible opportunity to combine Watson’s cognitive capabilities with a global leader in decision making solutions across science, legal, tax, and finance,” said Mike Rhodin, senior vice president, IBM Watson. “The result will be accelerated discoveries for the professionals that rely on these important information solutions, ultimately bringing new levels of speed and precision to critical decisions.”

Thomson Reuters will explore the application of Watson technology to key industry market opportunities to leverage deep content analytics, natural language processing, decision support and evidence-based learning to enable Thomson Reuters customers to derive greater insight and workflow efficiency.

Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial and risk, legal, tax and accounting, intellectual property and science and media markets, powered by the world’s most trusted news organization. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. For more information, go to http://thomsonreuters.com

IBM Watson: Pioneering a New Era of Computing
Watson is the first open cognitive computing technology platform and represents a new era in computing where systems understand the world in the way that humans do: through senses, learning, and experience. Watson continuously learns, gaining in value and knowledge over time, from previous interactions. With the help of Watson, organizations are harnessing the power of cognitive computing to transform industries, help professionals do their jobs better, and solve important challenges.

To advance Watson, IBM has two dedicated business units: Watson, established for the development of cloud-delivered cognitive computing technologies that represent the commercialization of “artificial intelligence” or “AI” across a variety of industries, and Watson Health, dedicated to improving the ability of doctors, researchers and insurers and other related health organizations to surface new insights from data to and deliver personalized healthcare

For more information on IBM Watson, visit: ibm.com/Watson and ibm.com/press/watson

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