by Angela Gales, Henri Jackson, and Mario Martinez
Whether movie suggestions from Netflix, booking assistants for hotels, or even romantic partners on Tinder, we are handing over more and more responsibility for our daily decisions to algorithms and artificial intelligence. We do this willingly because it alleviates the inner quarrel of making a choice that we are uncertain about. What’s more, these decisions become more accurate the better the algorithm gets to know us. However, would you trust an algorithm to help you decide who should be released from prison, as is already practiced in the courts in the USA? In Estonia, judges are already being replaced by artificial intelligence for financial disputes of less than $7,000. Even in very complex cases such as those discussed by the European Court of Human Rights, AI was able to predict the judges’ rulings with a 79% accuracy as long ago as 2016, demonstrating the immense potential of AI to replace humans in legal proceedings.
The decision to confer legal decision-making authority on an algorithm raises many concerns.
Is there really space for artificial intelligence in settling legal disputes in court?
We have now decided to tackle this question in our new discussion-based podcast. Each episode begins with a case study as a departure point from where we can then discuss the economic, sociological, philosophical, and political dimensions. Also, look forward to hearing from our very special guest, Sciences Po’s own Eleonora Bottini, in Episode 4! You can find all of our sources listed with a time-stamp below.
What is your opinion? Let us know by commenting on this article and writing the Sundial Press!
Bibliography
Episode 1:
00:53: Niiler, Eric. “Can AI Be a Fair Judge in Court? Estonia Thinks So.” Wired. 2021. https://www.wired.com/story/can-ai-be-fair-judge-court-estonia-thinks-so/.
03:28: CEPEJ (European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice). “European Ethical Charter on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Judicial Systems and Their Environment.” Council of Europe. 2019. https://rm.coe.int/ethical-charter-en-for-publication-4-december-2018/16808f699c. p.69.
03:34: Ulenaers, Jasper. “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Right to a Fair Trial: Towards a Robot Judge?” Asian Journal of Law and Economics 11, no. 2. July 21, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1515/ajle-2020-0008. p.2.
03:53: Abbott, Ryan. “Understanding Artificial Intelligence.” Chapter. In The Reasonable Robot: Artificial Intelligence and the Law, 18–35. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. doi:10.1017/9781108631761.002. p.33.
05:00: Surden, Harry. “Artificial Intelligence and Law: An Overview,” Georgia State
University Law Review 35, no. 4. Summer 2019. p.1322-1323.
06:07: Surden, Harry. “Artificial Intelligence and Law: An Overview,” Georgia State
University Law Review 35, no. 4. Summer 2019. p.1322-1323.
07:45: Frey, Carl Benedikt, and Michael A. Osborne. “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?” Technological Forecasting and Social Change 114 (January 2017): 254–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.08.019. p.67.
Episode 2:
00:52: Decision of the Bundesgerichtshof in the case of “wenigermiete.de” from 27.11.2019: http://juris.bundesgerichtshof.de/cgi-bin/rechtsprechung/document.py?Gericht=bgh&Art=en&nr=101936&pos=0&anz=1
01:15: GmbH, Conny. “Wir Helfen Mietern | Wenigermiete.De.” Accessed November 1, 2021. https://www.wenigermiete.de/.
03:47: Inkasso Oder Rechtsberatung? IUDICUM – Jura Auditiv Und Digital Lernen, n.d. https://open.spotify.com/episode/1p4gSVGqLVfDz35tEFGjSV?si=KhhO6AbJRDuQFq_4xXb8ww.
05:27: Courtroom5. “Be Your Own Lawyer.” Accessed November 1, 2021. https://courtroom5.com/.
07:28: Ebron, Sonja, and Maya Markovich. How Courtroom5 Is Using Legal Tech to Close the Access to Justice Gap. Technically Legal – A Legal Technology and Innovation Podcast, n.d. https://open.spotify.com/episode/5WogGZQkEHWIETzSL6oWRl?si=URmBfMBFSyO53JJ8pdf0oA.
09:12: Schumpeter, Joseph A. Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. 1st ed. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2008.
11:20: “The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the labour market: What do we know so far?“, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers No. 256, January 2021.
14:38: Gordon , Robert. “Lawyers, the Legal Profession & Access to Justice in the United States: A Brief History.” Daedalus, Winter 2019. https://www.amacad.org/publication/lawyers-legal-profession-access-justice-united-states-brief-history.
16:48: American Bar Association. “Rule 1.1 Competence – Comment 8.” Accessed November 1, 2021. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_1_competence/comment_on_rule_1_1/.
Episode 3:
01:07: Danziger, S., J. Levav, and L. Avnaim-Pesso. “Extraneous Factors in Judicial Decisions.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108, no. 17 (April 26, 2011): 6889–92. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1018033108.
02:55: Spielberg, Steven. “Minority Report.” United States: Twentieth Century Fox. 2002.
04:20: Christen, Angèle . “The Mistrials of Algorithmic Sentencing.” Logic. December 2017. https://logicmag.io/justice/the-mistrials-of-algorithmic-sentencing/.
04:40: Mattu, Julia Angwin, Jeff Larson, Lauren Kirchner, Surya. “Machine Bias.” ProPublica. Accessed November 1, 2021. https://www.propublica.org/article/machine-bias-risk-assessments-in-criminal-sentencing.
06:57: Heaven, Will Douglas. “Predictive Policing Algorithms Are Racist. They Need to Be Dismantled.” MIT Technology Review, July 17, 2020. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/07/17/1005396/predictive-policing-algorithms-racist-dismantled-machine-learning-bias-criminal-justice/.
07:31: Farid, Hany. The Dangers of Algorithmic Justice, 1538499720. https://www.ted.com/talks/hany_farid_the_dangers_of_algorithmic_justice.
07:48: MIT Technology Review. “Can You Make AI Fairer than a Judge? Play Our Courtroom Algorithm Game.” Accessed November 1, 2021. https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/10/17/75285/ai-fairer-than-judge-criminal-risk-assessment-algorithm/.
09:50: Ulenaers, Jasper. “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Right to a Fair Trial: Towards a Robot Judge?” Asian Journal of Law and Economics 11, no. 2. July 21, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1515/ajle-2020-0008. p.31
11:29: Antonio, Casilli. “Il n’y a pas d’algorithme.” In L’appétit Des Géants, by Olivier Ertzscheid. C&F éditions, 2017.
12:23: Dressel, Julia, and Hany Farid. “The Accuracy, Fairness, and Limits of Predicting Recidivism.” Science Advances 4, no. 1 (January 17, 2018): eaao5580. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aao5580.
13:02: Posner, Richard A. How Judges Think. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008.
14:02: The Alan Turing Institute. “Counterfactual Fairness.” Accessed November 1, 2021. https://www.turing.ac.uk/research/research-projects/counterfactual-fairness.
14:45: Ulenaers, Jasper. “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Right to a Fair Trial: Towards a Robot Judge?” Asian Journal of Law and Economics 11, no. 2. July 21, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1515/ajle-2020-0008. p.24
17:16: Lawlor, Reed C. “What Computers Can Do: Analysis and Prediction of Judicial Decisions.” American Bar Association Journal 49, no. 4 (1963): 337–44. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25722338.
Episode 4 – Part 1
01:38: Niiler, Eric. “Can AI Be a Fair Judge in Court? Estonia Thinks So.” Wired. 2021. https://www.wired.com/story/can-ai-be-fair-judge-court-estonia-thinks-so/.
03:49: Sourdin, Tania, and Richard Cornes. “Do Judges Need to Be Human? The Implications of Technology for Responsive Judging.” In The Responsive Judge, edited by Tania Sourdin and Archie Zariski, 67:87–119. Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1023-2_4.
04:16: Eleonora Bottini: https://unicaen.academia.edu/EleonoraBottini/CurriculumVitae
07:05: Baer, Susanne. Rechtssoziologie: Eine Einfürhrung in Interdiziplinäre Rechtsforschung. 3. Auflage. Nomos Lehrbuch, 2017. p.29
07:32: Weber, Max. Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. 5th Edition. 1972. p. 826.
08:39: Holmes, O.W., The Common Law, Boston: Little Brown. 1881.
09:27: Baer, Susanne. Rechtssoziologie: Eine Einfürhrung in Interdiziplinäre Rechtsforschung. 3. Auflage. Nomos Lehrbuch, 2017. p.30.
15:50: Alexy, Robert. A Theory of Constitutional Rights. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
17:23: Ulenaers, Jasper. “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Right to a Fair Trial: Towards a Robot Judge?” Asian Journal of Law and Economics 11, no. 2. July 21, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1515/ajle-2020-0008. p.18.
Episode 4 – Part 2
08:34: Kaplan, Jerry. Humans Need Not Apply: A Guide to Wealth and Work in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2015. p.79.
09:34: Greco, Luís. “Richterliche Macht Ohne Richterliche Verantwortung: Warum Es Den Roboter-Richter Nicht Geben Darf.” Rechtswissenschaft 11, no. 1 (2020): 29–62. https://doi.org/10.5771/1868-8098-2020-1-29. p. 55-58.
10:10: Gaspard, Koenig. “Une Justice sans Coupables.” In La Fin de l’individu, 208–16. Éditions de L’Observatoire/Humensis, 2019.
14:01: Kafka, Franz. “The Trial.” New York, NY: Schocken Books. 1999.
20:35: Greco, Luís. “Richterliche Macht Ohne Richterliche Verantwortung: Warum Es Den Roboter-Richter Nicht Geben Darf.” Rechtswissenschaft 11, no. 1 (2020): 29–62. https://doi.org/10.5771/1868-8098-2020-1-29. p. 61.
Episode 5
00:55: Aletras, Nikolaos, Dimitrios Tsarapatsanis, Daniel Preoţiuc-Pietro, and Vasileios Lampos. “Predicting Judicial Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights: A Natural Language Processing Perspective.” PeerJ Computer Science 2 (October 24, 2016): e93. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj-cs.93.
06:43: “Context | Legal Language Analytics for Judges & Expert Witnesses | LexisNexis.” Accessed November 2, 2021. https://www.lexisnexis.com/en-us/products/context.page.
08:35: Wellen, Seran. Using Legal Analytics to Find Your Best Legal Argument, Hire the Right Lawyer & Retain the Best Expert . Technically Legal, n.d. 20 May 2021. https://tlpodcast.com/using-legal-analytics-to-find-your-best-legal-argument-hire-the-right-lawyer-retain-the-best-expert-serena-wellen-context-lexisnexis/. p.29.
Episode 6
04:46: Ulenaers, Jasper. “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Right to a Fair Trial: Towards a Robot Judge?” Asian Journal of Law and Economics 11, no. 2. July 21, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1515/ajle-2020-0008. p.12.
