Tanguy Chau, Co-Founder & CEO of Paxton AI – Interview Series

Tanguy Chau, is the Co-Founder & CEO of Paxton AI, a platform that uses Generative AI to lighten the load of legal research and drafting, allowing legal teams to accomplish more with higher accuracy, in less time.

You’ve invested in multiple AI startups in the past, what differentiates successful startups from average companies?

In my experience, the most significant differentiators for successful AI startups are a clear and pressing problem they aim to address, a technically sound solution, and an adaptive, experienced team that can iterate based on feedback and the changing landscape. The alignment of product-market fit, forward-thinking technology, and a passionate team always sets successful startups apart.

Could you share the genesis story behind Paxton AI?

Certainly! The idea for Paxton AI was born out of frustration with the cumbersome, time-intensive nature of legal research. As both an investor and someone closely tied to the legal field, my co-founder, Mike UIin, and I recognized the need for a tool that could simplify and speed up the legal research process without compromising on accuracy. This, combined with witnessing the advancements in AI, led to the birth of Paxton AI, aiming to revolutionize the way legal professionals conduct research and stay updated.

What LLMs are used?

At Paxton AI, we leverage a combination of modern Machine Learning Models (LLMs), including Transformer-based architectures. The choice of LLMs is designed to capture the complexity and nuances of legal language while ensuring efficient retrieval and generation of legal content. Continuous adaptation and training on current legal databases enable us to ensure that Paxton AI remains state-of-the-art in its offerings.

Can you discuss how Paxton AI uses generative AI to track regulatory changes and provide regulatory intelligence?

Paxton AI constantly scans a vast range of sources like government websites, official gazettes, and legal databases to detect and recognize any new regulatory changes or updates. Given the context of a particular query or need, Paxton AI can provide specific insights into how a new regulation might affect a particular sector or business, generating reports tailored to specific user requirements.

How does Paxton AI mitigate or minimize potential issues with hallucinations?

Paxton AI minimizes the risk of hallucinations — or generating misleading or incorrect information — by being grounded in a robust, curated database of US State and Federal Laws & Regulations, as well as Case Law. Rather than generating content freely, Paxton AI operates within the confines of this comprehensive database. This means that when queries are posed to Paxton AI, its responses are generated based on actual legal texts and established case law, ensuring accuracy and relevance. The context-specific operation ensures that the information provided is always anchored to real and verifiable sources, thereby reducing the chances of generating incorrect or out-of-context information.

What are some other issues that arise from using Generative AI in the legal field?

The use of Generative AI in law presents unique ethical dilemmas. There's a responsibility to ensure AI-generated content is accurate, unbiased, and used appropriately. Relying too heavily on AI without verifying its accuracy or appropriateness for a given situation can lead to misrepresentation or misinterpretation.

There's a concern that relying heavily on AI could diminish the “human element” of legal work. While AI can handle data and information, the human touch, empathy, and intuition are irreplaceable in many legal situations, especially when interacting with clients or making judgment calls.

Introducing AI into legal practices can be expensive. There will likely be upfront investments required for software, hardware, integration, and training.

Where are legal precedents sourced from?

At Paxton AI, we take the integrity and reliability of our data very seriously. Legal information is primarily sourced from trusted government entities, including federal and state court databases and official government websites where such information is publicly provided. This ensures that the information we reference are both credible and current. By focusing on reputable sources, we aim to provide our users with the most reliable and accurate information possible, thereby maintaining the highest standards of quality in our service.

Can you discuss how Paxton AI is designed to augment lawyers instead of replacing them?

The core principle behind Paxton AI, and generative AI in the legal field more broadly, is to make lawyers “10x” more productive. This doesn't mean replacing the lawyer but rather amplifying their capabilities.

A significant percentage of legal professionals spend substantial time on mundane activities. Paxton AI can handle such tasks, allowing lawyers to redirect their focus on high-value, strategic activities that require human judgment.

Paxton AI can swiftly update lawyers on regulatory changes. Instead of replacing their decision-making skills, it provides lawyers with more timely, accurate information to base their decisions on.

How can Paxton AI make lawyers exponentially more efficient?

Paxton AI makes lawyers exponentially more efficient through multiple ways:

With its knowledge layer built upon a comprehensive database of US State and Federal Laws & Regulations and Case Law, Paxton AI offers lawyers instant access to a vast amount of legal information. This allows for rapid retrieval of relevant statutes, precedents, and regulations without the time-consuming manual searches.

Given that Paxton AI operates based on the context of the query in relation to its database, lawyers can receive precise and targeted answers to their inquiries, streamlining the research process.

Paxton can assist in drafting legal documents or briefs by providing relevant clauses, statutes, or case references quickly.

What is your vision for the future of law and AI?

AI won't replace lawyers; instead, it will augment their capabilities, allowing them to deliver unparalleled value to clients and society. As legal systems around the world become more intertwined, AI will help in seamlessly integrating laws across borders, facilitating international transactions, and offering solutions to global legal challenges. As the technology advances, it's critical to develop strong ethical frameworks and oversight mechanisms to ensure AI is used responsibly and maintains the integrity of the legal system.

Thank you for the great interview, readers who wish to learn more should visit Paxton AI.