In an annual report released Sunday, Chief Justice John Roberts commented on both the promises and dangers of artificial intelligence in federal courts.
“AI obviously has great potential to dramatically increase access to key information for lawyers and non-lawyers alike,” the end-of-year report reads. “But just as obviously it risks invading privacy interests and dehumanizing the law.”
While Roberts acknowledged the potential of AI as a more accessible legal tool to people who cannot afford lawyers, he also drew attention to its shortcomings within the field of law – such as machine learning programs citing nonexistent court cases and showing unfair bias in situations such as assessing flight risk.
Roberts has historically compared judges to umpires, and in the report made note of optical technology replacing tennis line judges at the US Open. However, he stressed that for these systems, “there is no discretion; the ball either did or did not hit the line.
“By contrast, legal determinations often involve gray areas that still require application of human judgment,” he wrote. “Machines cannot fully replace key actors in court.”
“I predict that human judges will be around for a while,” Roberts concluded. “But with equal confidence I predict that judicial work—particularly at the trial level—will be significantly affected by AI.”
Roberts closed the report by thanking the information systems and cybersecurity professionals working in the court system.
