AI makes junior patent attorneys instantly better but may quietly stunt their professional growth
Summary
- An NBER study involving 133 patent attorneys across eleven U.S. firms examined the impact of Google Labs' AI assistant "InFlow" on drafting and redlining tasks.
- AI assistance significantly boosted the immediate performance of junior attorneys, while senior attorneys saw smaller immediate gains.
- When AI was removed during redlining tasks, only senior attorneys retained performance advantages, whereas juniors showed no overall benefit.
- Junior attorneys who relied most heavily on AI for drafting retained the least lasting skill development during unaided evaluations.
- The findings highlight a growing tension between short-term AI productivity gains and long-term professional skill development across knowledge-based industries.
Why it matters
While AI tools instantly narrow performance gaps for junior workers, they risk stunting long-term skill acquisition and professional judgment if foundational expertise is bypassed. This creates workforce challenges for organizations relying on the steady development of junior talent.