AI Legal system disruption with contract engineering (kyc.co)

A growing thesis argues that AI plus vertically integrated marketplaces will not merely automate legal tasks but migrate legal power away from firms and courts into platform-native “contract engineering.” The piece contends AI has eaten the low‑value base of legal work (the “pizza slice” problem), while courts are too slow and costly to handle millions of instant, cross‑border micro‑disputes. The natural consequence is platforms that combine marketplace, payments/escrow, LLM‑driven contract drafting and negotiation, built‑in evidence/timeline systems, reputation layers, and expert ADR—making platform enforcement the default and courts the escalation path. Technically and institutionally, this represents a re‑architecture: contracts become programmable governance protocols with embedded workflows, adjudication pathways, and AI orchestration. Key components are LLMs for rapid contract creation/redlining, evidence-linked timelines, pre‑selected expert networks for fast ADR, and escrow/payment integration for immediate settlement. For AI/ML practitioners and legal tech builders this signals new product priorities (robust audit trails, explainable adjudication models, secure identity/reputation systems) and a shift in market structure—lawyers’ roles morph into contract engineers and platform jurists, and enforcement becomes a software service that outcompetes legacy institutions by being faster, cheaper, and contextually enforced.