Below is an abstract/summary of my paper with the Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship and the Law at Pepperdine Law School.

Motivated by the recent explosion of interest in artificial intelligence(AI), I examined whether it makes sense to implement AI in smart contracts, to make them more effective. The current state of smart contracts leaves one to wonder if these are true contracts themselves. Traditional contracts have an offer for acceptance, highlighting the fact that smart contracts are mere codes incapable of satisfying the required elements of a legal contract. Could smarter contracts, assisted by AI, satisfy the elements of a contract by offering a web-based platform that allows for parties to make offers and accept them, copying them into a smarter contract? Could the use of AI in contracting, reduce risk by comparing the current smarter contract with existing smarter contracts on the blockchain? Could AI help retain business relationships by allowing user inputs that track performance, fluctuations, and extending the time for performance?

These analyses will be the focus of this paper. Part I examines the issues with the current state of contracting and will elucidate potential sectors of the legal industry where the implementation of smart contracts would be of best use for attorneys and our clients. Part II examines the implementation of smart contracts, and how it would help attorneys add value to clients by making attorneys work more effectively and efficiently. Part III of this paper will also explain why the use of smart contracts should be augmented with artificial intelligence (AI) to assist with the validity of the contracts. Part IV of this paper will examine the creation of a new type of lawyer that technologists and corporate clients will need to assist with the understanding of the risk associated with the technology and the laws that govern them. Finally, in Part V this paper will examine potential client areas that could benefit from the use of smart contracts to save money and move more efficiently.