If you remember the days of cassette tapes, floppy disks and flip phones, then we don't need to tell you how quickly technology is moving lately.

Now it seems we're running headlong into the era of artificial intelligence. Yes, smart computers capable of learning and adapting to solve complex problems. We're not quite to HAL yet, but it seems technology is getting there.

And with these new technologies comes a new vocabulary. Phrases like big data, cognitive computing, machine learning, internet-of-things and analytics are creeping into discussions outside of Silicon Valley.

It's a safe bet that law school didn't teach you how to code in machine language or study wiring schematics. So, how do you stay current with tech trends?

To help you out, here's a very basic glossary of a few terms you'll likely come across in any discussion of the future of the legal profession. We could easily devote pages to each subject, but for brevity's sake, we'll try to talk about these technologies in layman's terms within the context of the legal industry.