AI will not replaces judges or lawyers, Chief Justice Niall has said.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not replace judges or lawyers, but it will become a part of the legal landscape, Chief Justice Richard Niall has said.
Chief Justice Niall spoke to the Law Institute of Victoria for their inaugural podcast episode Cross-Examined looking at AI in the legal profession.
Chief Justice Niall said specialised AI tools were being piloted in a variety of uses across Victoria’s courts and the Law Library Victoria.
“We are currently taking a relatively cautious approach, but we are looking positively at opportunities to which AI might help bring about a more efficient and more expeditious use of court resources,” he said.
“It’s about making the process more efficient not substituting AI for the judge.”
Chief Justice Niall praised the Victorian Law Reform Commission’s report into AI in Victoria’s Courts and Tribunals – the first inquiry on the issue within Australia.
He said he was mindful of the risks – both actual and to the perception of the judicial process – but these could be mitigated with guidelines, oversight, transparency, and specialised AI products.
“The important thing for me, is to develop guidelines and policies which are fit for purpose now, but which will also be fit for purpose into the future,” Chief Justice Niall said.
“We have to see the reality that AI will be a part of the landscape. And so we look in that context as to how not only we might deal with the problems, but how we might also harness the benefits.
“And those benefits, I think, are going to be that lawyers are doing the analysis, doing the high-end human analysis and work that is so critical to the legal profession and representing clients.
“And that AI and the tools that are available remain just that, tools to assist the human process of advising clients appearing in court and human judges deciding cases.
“All of our potential uses for AI have to accommodate the judicial role so people can have confidence that that outcome is the outcome arrived at by the judge, and those are their reasons, not AI’s.”
Chief Justice Niall said the Courts reflected the community they served and were open to change.
“The Victorian profession has had a long history of innovation and adoption of technology to try and improve and make more efficient the court system, the justice system and advising clients,” he said.
“So the Courts’ approach is consistent with that long history of the profession being ready to embrace responsible innovation.
“I don’t think in investigating AI, we’ll lose sight of the human role of judges and the importance of confidence in the community, in the profession, and in the Courts.”