Ethical Challenges of Using Artificial Intelligence in Judiciary
Angel Mary John, Aiswarya M. U., Jerrin Thomas Panachakel
TL;DR
The paper addresses the ethical challenges of deploying AI in the judiciary and surveys the major AI systems currently in use, highlighting issues related to bias, transparency, privacy, and the novel threat of speech-imagery-based BCIs. It analyzes concrete systems such as Giustizia Predittiva, LITI, SUPACE, SUVAS, and COMPAS to illustrate potential impacts on due process and public trust. The authors propose a comprehensive set of recommendations, including preserving human oversight, strengthening data protection, fostering stakeholder collaboration, mitigating errors, and adopting ethical guidelines and principles. Together, these insights aim to guide responsible design, governance, and deployment of trustworthy judicial AI with practical implications for fairness, efficiency, and rights protection.
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a ubiquitous concept in numerous domains, including the legal system. AI has the potential to revolutionize the functioning of the judiciary and the dispensation of justice. Incorporating AI into the legal system offers the prospect of enhancing decision-making for judges, lawyers, and legal professionals, while concurrently providing the public with more streamlined, efficient, and cost-effective services. The integration of AI into the legal landscape offers manifold benefits, encompassing tasks such as document review, legal research, contract analysis, case prediction, and decision-making. By automating laborious and error-prone procedures, AI has the capacity to alleviate the burden associated with these arduous tasks. Consequently, courts around the world have begun embracing AI technology as a means to enhance the administration of justice. However, alongside its potential advantages, the use of AI in the judiciary poses a range of ethical challenges. These ethical quandaries must be duly addressed to ensure the responsible and equitable deployment of AI systems. This article delineates the principal ethical challenges entailed in employing AI within the judiciary and provides recommendations to effectively address these issues.