AI has become an inevitable part of everyday legal practice. The question worth reflecting on is not whether AI is useful, but what impact it has on our lives.
Equally important are the mindful choices we make as AI evolves from a tool into a crutch. Human intelligence is unique not only because it solves problems, but because it enables us to consciously shape a more fulfilling life. That capacity is worth protecting.
The efficiency trap
Over the past few years, AI tools have transformed legal practice. For intellectual property professionals in particular, the gains have been substantial: prior art searches that once consumed entire days can now be completed in hours, and contract reviews that previously required an entire team can often be handled by a single lawyer equipped with the right tools. The benefits are real and worth acknowledging.
Yet alongside these gains, an underlying challenge has emerged: the tendency to overlook the fact that “faster is not always better”. With greater efficiency often come higher expectations of speed, responsiveness, and quality. It also requires resisting the temptation to assume that the ability to do more automatically creates a duty to do more. In this way, the endless pursuit of becoming better and faster can transform a valuable opportunity into slavery of AI.
What mental health actually requires
Mental wellbeing means being present in the moment, and not merely the absence of stress. This includes meaningful conversations and human connection, which lift our spirits and contribute significantly to our sense of purpose and fulfilment. However, when technology begins to replace these aspects of human connection, it can reduce opportunities for growth, learning, and fulfilment that arise from genuine engagement with others. The erosion of such human connection is a cause for concern. Peaceful moments, time for reflection, bonding with colleagues, and the ability to simply be present are crucial to a well-lived professional life and sustained mental agility.
The risk of outsourcing our thinking
While AI can gather information, spot patterns, and help draft documents, it cannot replace the unique human intelligence that lawyers possess and use to assess risks, identify opportunities, strategise, and provide out-of-the-box solutions that are not yet part of the data available to AI. These are the areas where lawyers truly add value. Human intelligence is infinite, yet only a fraction of it is used during one’s lifetime. The pains and problems of human life can be seen as boons, as they compel and challenge us to find solutions. Therefore, excessive dependence on AI to find solutions to every problem may weaken our ability to think and explore unique and novel solutions. AI can reach what has already been explored and documented; it cannot create in the way humans can.
A mindful and responsible use of AI is, therefore, essential for sustainable human and professional growth. When we rely too heavily on AI, it can weaken our natural ability to think critically and creatively. Over time, this easy access to information can create a sense of comfort and dependence, making it harder to step outside that comfort zone and exercise our own judgment and unique thinking skills.
The boundary problem
Sustainable professional performance also requires periods of rest, reflection, and recovery. In a profession that rewards responsiveness, preserving these boundaries requires conscious effort. The real question is not just how fast we work, but whether the speed and convenience offered by AI can become so addictive that work itself becomes never-ending. For professionals who already struggle to disconnect and maintain boundaries between work, home, and other areas of life, AI can further intensify this challenge and erode emotional and social intelligence, ultimately compromising mental health.
Young lawyers face a particular version of this challenge. The years of early practice are also years of formation: learning to think, to write, to argue, to read a room. If AI increasingly mediates those experiences before they are fully internalised, the long-term consequences for professional development deserve serious thought.
Using AI with intention
AI is undoubtedly an essential tool for improving efficiency; however, the key lies in how we use it. When used as a tool rather than a crutch, its potential is considerable. It reduces the time spent on repetitive tasks and creates more space for strategic thinking, client engagement, advocacy, negotiation, and innovation. When used responsibly, AI can be professionally fulfilling and can help create opportunities for joy, growth, peace, and empathy by freeing up time for human exploration and meaningful engagement.
A human enterprise
Technology may help us work faster. Wisdom, judgment, empathy, and balance will continue to determine the quality of both our work and our lives. These are not things that technology can provide. They come from how consciously and intentionally we choose to live and practise. Therefore, in the pursuit of progress, we must not lose sight of what truly sustains us. Balance, peace, fulfilment, and human connection remain as important as ever. The question that requires conscious reflection is: How best can we use the time freed up by AI?
FICPI’s view
Membership of FICPI makes IP attorneys more effective through its dual focus on legal and professional excellence. FICPI is working to make sure that the independent IP attorney profession remains fit for purpose by adapting to the present and the future, with adapting to new challenges such as AI an important part of that.
Next steps
- Explore the FICPI Committees and get more involved with FICPI's work in driving change in managing IP practices and driving IP laws and developments
- Find out more about our FICPI's AI Patent Drafting Masterclass being held on 16 September 2026 in Budapest, immediately before the FICPI Open Forum. This intensive full day Masterclass combines an online preparatory phase with a structured in-person workshop – places are limited.
- The FICPI Open Forum is open to any interested party from the IP community. Running from 16-19 September in Budapest, our Friday plenary session, AI in IP: the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, will be sure to continue your interest in AI. The session will try to cut through the hype and the horror stories to give IP practitioners a clear, candid understanding of what modern large language models (LLMs) are and are not, how they actually work, and how data is handled when you use them.
- Read WIPO’s Index of AI Initiatives in IP Offices and the EUIPO’s manifesto on a responsible approach to AI.