Meet Anush Emelianova
Senior Product Marketing Manager at DISCO
Former privacy lawyer, ILTACON 2024 speaker, and human.
Q: In your experience, what are some of the most common fears attorneys have about AI?
Anush Emelianova: One of the major concerns we’re seeing is that generative AI is going to hallucinate and give you inaccurate results. I think many lawyers can relate to the experience of working with a junior associate, for example, who is consistently presenting the wrong information. That’s a person that you probably wouldn’t bring on to your next case, and you should hold generative AI tools to the same standard. That fear of hallucinations is very valid.
Related: Learn more, including how to write prompts to avoid hallucinations💡
When it comes to security and privacy concerns, a lot of the ones I’m seeing are not exclusive to AI but rather come up with the rise of many new technologies. What is specific to generative AI particularly, is the fact that the model is trained on information that you give it, and then it can later reiterate that same information to somebody else. This is a new type of privacy risk that we haven’t yet encountered.
Privacy is something that can be compromised just by the existence of sufficiently powerful technology, so you could say that the internet was really bad for privacy, too. It doesn’t necessarily mean that we shouldn’t adopt new technologies, but that as they are adopted, we continue to make privacy and security a priority.
Out of all the companies that are building AI products, I think the ones that are going to be most effective are those who have stated out specific steps they’re taking to protect privacy and security.
Related: Humans Behind the AI: The Data Privacy Architect 🔒
Q: What do you recommend buyers ask of their generative AI vendors to allay some of these fears?
Emelianova: Privacy and security are two sides of the same coin: if you want to protect privacy, you have to make sure you’re operating on secure infrastructure.
There’s due diligence consumers do on vendors to ensure they’re working with technology that is operating securely:
- Be aware of the certifications vendors have,
- Ask if the LLM is retaining customer data,
- Verify if the tool is encrypting data at rest or in transit (ideally, both).
Aside from concerns about the LLM training on and retaining customer data, none of these guardrails are really different with generative AI vs. other types of technology vendors.
Related: Humans Behind the AI: The AI Consultant 🖥️
Q: How does your former career as an attorney impact the work you do today?
Emelianova: When I transitioned to a product marketing role I was looking for a field where I could make a more creative difference. I loved being an attorney, but one of the downsides of being in charge of trying to mitigate risks is that you’re often the party of “no.” A lot of times, you have to be the person in the room saying, “We probably shouldn’t do this because there’s a chance the FTC will catch wind of it, so your brilliant idea has to sit on the shelf.”
In my current role, I’ve loved thinking of creative ways to tell DISCO’s product story, and communicate with our customers to address their specific fears and dreams about generative AI. I’m rarely the one in the room saying “no.” Now, the legal team has to say no to me.
I do think being a lawyer has made me very detail-oriented when it comes to things like commas and em dashes, of course, but the biggest strength it has given me is the ability to relate to some of our customers and the pain points they’re experiencing. I’ve certainly had a number of dinner plans ruined by slow ediscovery technology, and worked 100-hour weeks. I remember when I was a young associate in New York and a partner asked me to sort through case documents for a meeting with a client the next day. I spent 24 to 36 almost continuous hours reviewing hundreds of documents just to find the 10 best ones. About a third of that time was spent trying to compensate for the bad technology we were using. Having a tool like Cecilia Q&A would have really made a huge difference to my quality of life and mental health. Maybe I’d still even be practicing!
Related: Meet Cecilia, DISCO’s Suite of Generative AI Legal Solutions 🧠
Q: We heard you’re going to ILTACON this year. What are some of your top conference tips?
Emelianova: I’m very excited about ILTA this year, not only for some announcements DISCO is rollling out but I’m also speaking on one of our sessions, a masterclass which will focus on how to choose the right use cases for generative AI and ensure governance when using this new technology.
In terms of conference advice, my motto is: it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Make sure to stay hydrated and plan your time out in advance to prioritize the sessions you want to attend. The other big thing I’ve discovered over the course of my career is that the time you spend meeting new people is incredibly valuable. It may not feel innately productive, but those quick chats have really been the most helpful in terms of forming new connections and deepening existing relationships. I often reach out to conference contacts to quickly get an opinion on something or learn more about the market and what the industry is prioritizing. That’s what I think these conferences are ultimately all about.
Related: Heading to ILTA? Tips for Networking with Social Media📱
Q: What is your biggest hope and your biggest fear for the future of AI?
Emelianova: My biggest hope, as it relates to what we’re doing at DISCO, is that generative AI integrates into every lawyer’s practice to improve their work-life balance and the joy they get from practicing law. I think there’s a lot of different ways and opportunities to do that.
On a personal level, I’d love a truly multi-modal AI personal assistant that can really manage your life for you. Make dinner reservations, manage your schedule, etc. If I was answering this question with my one-year-old son in mind I think it would be really cool to have an AI-powered animal companion for him, like a snow leopard that could teach him calculus and also do our laundry. All at an affordable price point, of course.
I don’t really have a lot of fears. I am optimistic about AI itself, I’m hopeful we can implement the appropriate guardrails.
For further reading on the future of legal technology and how AI is shaping the landscape, click here.
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