NEW DELHI: As the Judiciary has decided to use Artificial Intelligence with the adoption of specially designed software to assist judges, the Chief Justice of India S A Bobde has said that the technology would never be allowed to take decisions which must be left to the judges. Releasing a report on “Responsible AI of Indian Judicial System” prepared by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, the CJI said that he was strongly opposed to the automated decision making process in the judicial system and it should never be allowed. Terming use of Artificial Intelligence in Judiciary as a pivotal and transformative step, he said that AI should be used only to the extent to assist judges, lawyers and litigants in making judiciary efficient and accessible but how, when and what to decide would be left to the judges. Justice Bobde said that the judiciary already embarked on use of Artificial intelligence by designing a special software SUPACE( Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Courts Efficiency) to assist judges by furnishing all relevant documents and records of a case. He, however, allayed the apprehension that the machines and Artificial Intelligence will in any manner influence the outcome of a litigation. He, however, cautioned that use of technology should not lead to any kind of inequality. Referring to court proceedings being held through videoconferencing, Justice Bobde said that the system has become technology dependent and it created inequality by putting those people at disadvantaged positions who cannot use it. “I hope artificial intelligence would not augment the existing inequality or create new inequality in society,” he said. The report prepared by Vidhi Centre said that artificial judicial intelligence will be pivotal in transforming the justice system in India and the integration of AI driven technology in the Indian justice system requires a comprehensive legal, regulatory, and ethical framework to establish trust in these technologies. “The Judicial AI algorithms and design models must be made available for independent and transparently conducted, periodic technical audits.To keep up with a rapidly morphing AI technology, all governance frameworks and standards must lean towards technology neutral principles in lieu of rigidly defined parameters,” the report said. The report also favoured harnessing public private partnerships (PPPs) to design and deploy the technology and also suggested that the judiciary should also publish accessible data for meaningful AI innovation. “Until now, the NIC has been the foremost institution responsible for the overall digitisation of public sector entities in India, over the past two decades. However, design and development of public centric AI, as in the case of developing AI for the justice system, will be a costly and logistically complex endeavour. It is common knowledge that ecosystems like these are not created proprietorially—they need a coordinated public-private partnership to build a platform on top of which innovators can create various products,” the report said.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/use-of-artificial-intelligence-will-transform-judiciary-but-technology-will-not-be-allowed-to-decide-cases-cji/articleshow/82183403.cms
