Google RCT: AI boosts patent lawyers' work quality, but juniors gain no judgment
rseroter · x · 2026-10-13
Google Research and David Autor ran a three-month randomized controlled trial with practicing patent attorneys. Routine AI use lifted work quality across the board, but effects on on-the-job learning split by seniority: senior lawyers using AI for 90 days showed stronger judgment than non-users, while juniors showed no average skill gain, with scores polarizing into more strong and more low scores. The study's rarity: months of real-work usage, credible unassisted judgment evaluation, and blinded expert grading — addressing prior findings that AI often acts as a temporary exoskeleton whose gains vanish when removed.
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