(Originally published on p.6 of LexisNexis’ Advancing Together publication. Read here for full publication)
No-code platforms will change the rule of law forever. Imagine a world of immediate access to guidance on new laws and regulations, ambient compliance with them, instantaneous advice and six sigma service delivery to all clients and citizens. Thanks to no-code platforms that will largely be the world in government, as well as citizens and clients by 2030.
At their core, no-code systems are able to rapidly remove delays, backlogs and poor-quality advice in the administration of justice, and ensure regulatory compliance and perfect citizens’ access to government. Gone are the justifications for internal programmers, offshoring projects and costly delays in deployment. Instead, intelligent no-code platforms allow you to embody your organization’s expertise into systems that make decisions based on the perfect execution of your documented reasoning. All logic applied, and data relied upon is recorded and mined for greater improvements and insight. Such systems also offer the opportunity to democratise access to government and legal advice cost-effectively and to all.
Indeed, I would go so far as to argue that if your organisations are not already beginning the journey to use no-code platforms to digitise your interface to clients and citizens, then you will increasingly be seen as negligent.
“Gartner predicts that (no-code) low code application building (will) gather more than 65 percent of all app development functions by the year 2024 and with about 66 percent of big companies using a minimum of four low code platforms.”
In the 21st century, giant technologies (IP networks, cloud computing, processor speed, cheap data storage, security and data analysis algorithms to name a few) have matured and interoperate to create massive multiplier effects for our societal benefit. The reverse can become be true too, but the rule of law should ensure that as potentially socially destructive outcomes evolve, they are appropriately regulated and that the enforcement of those regulations is reviewed in tribunals and courts.
The result is at least a fourfold lowering of the time and cost of deploying systems that can deliver access to justice, government and legal advice. The rule of law is served by empowering government, business and experts to accelerate the delivery of advice and, after initial deployment, at zero marginal cost – 24×7 – perfectly. And this improvement in cost benefit improves as more use cases are deployed because components can be reusable – e.g. you do not solve for electronic signature for every different form of consent – it is a reusable component.
Now, it is possible, without programmers and SQL database administrators, to visually document workflow processes and expertise in systems that securely deliver access, guidance, advice and required documents at internet scale between people; across organisations and across time. And these systems can structure and store their decisions, their deployed logic and the data on which decisions and guidance were based to better analyse client service delivery for the future and allow a review for fairness.
The rule of law is subverted by expense, delay and poor-quality outcomes. All those outcomes result from the accelerating complexity of laws and regulations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries superimposed on judicial and government systems developed in the 18th to 19th centuries.
In the middle of the 21st century, all of this will be swept away by connected, monitored, and hopefully reviewed systems accelerated hugely by the embrace of digital during COVID-19 and the inevitable retirement from the workforce of Boomers (I write as one). A new generation of leaders and indeed citizens are unlikely to tolerate outdated government, legal and judicial systems. The embrace of digital change will only continue.
And finally, the level of user empathy with which systems can be designed is spectacular now. Careful thought about serving everyone equally can be realised in multi-language deployments, Clear Graphics, for which there are tried and true standards to guide you, accompanied by personalised video explanations can create user experiences that, arguably, are better than sitting across a desk from the professional advisor ‘du jour’. And it is advice delivered instantly on the client/citizen’s timetable and according to their availability. For example, an application Neota built pro bono with the California Department of Housing in a week earlier this year was able to guide more than 125,000 citizens as to what they needed to do to avoid eviction from their homes under some temporary relief laws then in place. In the immediate future, rapid adaptability (what we call the Rapid Application Development and Deployment of Expertise – RADDE TM) will be the key to success. The benefits from no-code platforms will no longer be a nice-to-have but will be essential for all service providers to remain relevant and effective to their clients and constituencies