The timeline compression that hit software development is here for legal work
AI generates contract provisions faster than you can review them. Creation isn't the bottleneck.
Associate General Counsel at Docusign - Product and Partners - Strategic Legal Advisor | AI & Product Counsel | Driving Ethical Innovation at Scale
AI generates contract provisions faster than you can review them. Creation isn't the bottleneck.
AI systems are no longer just responding to prompts—they're setting goals and executing actions.
Governance without narrative is just bureaucracy
The worst case: prompt injection tricks your agent into handing over its own credentials. Attackers bypass the AI entirely and access your systems with the agent's full authority.
AI moved from tool to actor. 2026 is when we build the accountability structures those actors require.
For product teams, these findings establish concrete design constraints for any feature that relies on model self-reporting about internal states, reasoning processes, or decision factors.
Agents give you power—the autonomy and flexibility to handle ambiguous or dynamic tasks. Workflows give you control—the structure, reliability, and traceability you need for predictable, auditable processes.
Agents asking for too many permissions is bad. Fake servers stealing data is worse. But the real nightmare? Prompt injection that tricks your agent into handing over its own credentials.