Artificial Intelligence is being used by the people at large for various
drafting, summarising, and research purposes. The newly developed bot ChatGPT
has been in huge discussion among the people. Lawyers have also discussed the
usage of the bot as a helping hand to the lawyers, and their paralegals. Various
other robots have come to the fore that could present convincing arguments in
the court of law and substantiate each argument with precedents and legislation.
This paper discusses the advantages of AI and the significance of technology to
lawyers and paralegals. It analyses how AI could be incorporated into the
courtrooms and the legal system with the help of the National Action Policy and
Plan for incorporating ICT in the courtrooms. It analyses the pattern of usage
of AI in Indian Courtrooms and the subsequent possibilities of the incorporation
of AI in the court of law.
The paper has taken the opinion of various lawyers and judges regarding the
usage of AI. The paper has also discussed the popular question: Whether AI
could replace lawyers, paralegals, and other professionals? The paper mentions
the possible threats that AI poses to our privacy and various other matters and
highlights what amends are required in the laws so as to use AI extensively
without any threat. The paper intends to form a conclusion that AI is expanding
at a fast pace and laws are required for the regulation of AI.
Introduction-
Technology has made our lives easier. A decade or two ago, lawyers had to go
through numerous books to look for a single precedent. Today, everything is
available on legal databases and search engines. There are short keys that aid
in searching for keywords. The facility of online filing and online proceedings
has come to the fore. Today, lawyers could easily get arranged content on the
internet for their arguments.
We are in the fifth generation of computers. In this era, technology has given a
brain to machines. Humans, with their intellect, have artificially created
intelligence. We have made neurons that are trained like human brains. The
artificial intelligence of machines is faster and much more calculative than the
minds of an average human being.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has helped lawyers, law students, legal
researchers, and paralegals to a great extent. From detecting plagiarized
content to detecting grammatical mistakes, AI has aided the officers of the
court in arguing and presenting valid precedents in the courtrooms. Recently, a
bot has been introduced by OpenAI called ChatGPT that could present convincing
arguments, write essays, songs and do various other tasks easily within seconds.
ChatGPT: The Paralegal Bot
ChatGPT or Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer is a chatbot developed by
OpenAI and launched in November 2022. Through conversations with a chatbot,
ChatGPT, a natural language processing tool, can produce content, images, and
even code. It could generate speeches, songs, marketing copy, news articles, and
student essays. It functions very much like the human brain, using networked
"neurons" that can learn to recognize patterns in data and predict what will
happen next.
On November 30, when the bot was produced for public testing, it came up with
jokes. It wrote a five-paragraph essay on the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby. It was able to mimic lawyers by presenting valuable and
sorted precedents on same-sex marriage. It could even plan and schedule like a
secretary.
OpenAI estimated ChatGPT had over a million users by December 4; by January
2023, it had astoundingly surpassed 100 million users, making it the
fastest-growing consumer application in the history of the world. The service
initially works best in English but is also able to function in some other
languages. The features of this bot can help people in every profession to a
great extent. It could prove to revolutionize mankind both in good and bad ways.
On one hand, it could prove to aid professionals by sorting and arranging their
research work. While, on the other hand, it might take the employment of the
people who specialize in such stuff. It might pose a big threat to employment.
Technology in Courtrooms
The fourth generation of computers (1971-present) introduced Information and
Communication Technology. We have been using telephone and mobile phones for
communication for a very long time. We have used applications for video calling
and video conferencing. Since 1990, efforts have been made to computerize some
of the court's procedures in India. The second most populous country in the
world with such a huge number of cases needed to sort and arrange the files.
The Indian judiciary's ICT enablement program needed to become mission-critical.
There was a widespread understanding in the legal community that creating a
national policy and action plan with the proper distribution and phasing to
implement ICT in courts across the nation and their web-based interlinking was
necessary.
In a letter dated July 5, 2004, addressed to the Minister of Law and Justice,
the Chief Justice of India (CJI) proposed to the Central Government the
formation of an E-Committee to help him develop a National Policy on the
computerization of the Indian Judiciary and provide advice on managerial,
technological, and communication-related changes. The Union Cabinet agreed that
creating such a committee was a good idea and approved the proposal.
As a result, on December 28, 2004, the Ministry of Law and Justice (Department
of Justice) issued an office order creating the E-Committee, headed by retired
Karnataka High Court Judge Dr. Justice G.C. Bharuka, along with three other
expert members. The E-Committee was also tasked with creating an action plan
with the proper phasing for a time-bound implementation of the national policy
on computerizing the justice delivery system.
This Committee must also continuously review and assess the action plan
regularly. The Report on Strategic Plan for Implementation of Information and
Communication Technology in Indian Judiciary was prepared by the E-Committee and
delivered to the CJI on May 11, 2005. To determine the current status of the
technology, the E-Committee also had extensive discussions with a wide range of
ICT-related organizations, service providers, research and development experts,
and top manufacturers. Its application concerns court-related procedures,
pricing, accessibility, security, implementation, scalability, sustainability,
change rate, and support systems.
The E-Committee framed the National Policy and Action Plan for its
implementation over a period of five years from the date of its effective
commencement based on the input received from people with expertise in various
domains relevant to change management in the Indian Judiciary.[1]
The project aims to provide efficient and effective time-bound justice to the
citizens. It envisages developing support systems in courts and automating the
processes to provide transparency and easy accessibility to information. The
objective of the project is to enhance the judicial productivity of India both
qualitatively and quantitatively to make the justice delivery system affordable,
accessible, cost-effective, predictable, reliable, and transparent.[2] The first
e-court was opened in Hyderabad in 2016.
The pandemic era of COVID-19 (2020-2021) showed us the significance of
technology. E-courts and e-proceedings became the new normal. Today, every
professional is required to know using technology. CJI Chandrachud, while
hearing the case of All India Association of Jurists v. Uttarakhand High
Court,[3] said that it was disturbing that some high court chief justices are
doing away with the technology set up for virtual hearings. He sent a strong
message to the High Court CJs to not disband the hybrid hearing option as
technology was not only for a pandemic time.[4]
Usage of AI by Lawyers and Law firms:
The Supreme Court of India has recently deployed an AI technology developed by a
Bangalore-based start-up Technology Enabled Resolutions (TERES) to translate
court arguments into text during the live proceedings of the constitution bench
hearing on the Maharashtra political controversy. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal
praised the technology as a milestone and a wonderful idea. Justice PS
Narasimha stated that this will mean that the Supreme Court will be literally a
"Court of Record" with every spoken word getting recorded.[5]
Recently, CJI D.Y. Chandrachud highlighted the significance of translating the
judgments of the apex court into regional languages. He stated that the
judgments are in complicated English terms and are unable to be deciphered by
the people at large. Machine learning has been used to translate about 2,900
judgments of the Supreme Court into four languages- Hindi, Odia, Gujarati, and
Tamil till now. Chief Justice of Kenya lauded India's ability to translate
Judgements using AI.
CJI DY Chandrachud, analyzing the future of AI, stated:
"Do you see the screen? We're just trying to explore the possibilities of live
transcript. It is an experiment. Then we will have a permanent record of
arguments. Of course, it will help the judges and the lawyers, but law colleges
can also analyze how arguments are made.
AI is being perceived to change the course of society internationally. Recently,
Allen & Overy, a leading international law firm, has announced an exclusive
partnership with Harvey AI to become the first law firm in the world to have
enterprise-level access to generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) that is based
on OpenAI's latest models.[6] Recently, using the AI tool- ChatGPT, Justice
Anoop Chitkara, in Punjab and Haryana High Court, was able to gain a more
comprehensive understanding of the bail laws that apply when an attacker commits
a cruel assault.
AI is being used extensively by people in the field of law. There are websites
that save hundreds of hours. There is a website called ELI5 (Explain like I'm
Five). It simplifies complex topics using AI so that even a child can understand
them. This could be used by clients to decode complex legalese. There is a
website called NAMELIX that could generate a short brandable business name using
AI.
It is a great tool for discovering new domain names. FLIKI creates videos from
scripts or blog posts using realistic voices in a minute. It could even
transform articles into videos. AI websites like AUTO DRAW and LOOKA could be
used for drawing and making logo designs respectively. The EXCEL FORMULA BOT
could create Excel and google sheets in seconds. There are AI bots that could
serve ready-made PowerPoint presentations.
ChatGPT is one of the advanced forms of AI, that is extensively being used by
all sections of society. It is also extensively being used by lawyers and law
firms as it saves a huge amount of time. It gives sort of cooked content to the
law personnel by giving convincing precedents. It quickly processes and analyzes
huge data and provides relevant information to the lawyers, or the paralegals.
AI as a Replacement to Paralegals:
According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment
rate of India in Urban areas is 7.93% and the unemployment rate in rural India
is 7.44%. We see frustrated youth marching for protests for want of employment.
Technology has always seemed to be posing a threat to employment in India. This
was first understood when the handloom industries were closed, and people were
replaced by machines. Whether AI's efficiency in performing the tasks of
paralegals quickly and easily poses a threat to the job of the paralegals is a
highly debated question.
The hectic task of research has been simplified to a great extent with the help
of AI. The lawyers and paralegals just need to type what case laws or content
they need regarding a topic on Google or more recently ChatGPT and get plenty of
data on that. Research papers, articles, journals, and other law goodies and
resources are easily available online. AI has a self-learning capability to
understand and decipher the meanings of words and sentences.
Plagiarism detection used to take hundreds of hours of the paralegals. The AI
technology to detect plagiarism quickly has been a boon to advocates and law
students. Grammar correction in the files has been made easier with the help of
AI. Contract Drafting and summarising complex legal documents have all been made
easier with the help of AI. There are websites that help us to paraphrase
sentences and paragraphs.
However, the data available on various websites cannot be relied upon blindly.
Although AI has been a mini paralegal to the lawyers, it is unable to replace
the clerks of the advocates and the paralegals of firms. This is because
research is still a process that requires skill. AI has been trained to sort and
present all possible data. But, paralegals, clerks, legal researchers, and other
law personnel have made mistakes and learned from their mistakes. They gain
experience and make necessary corrections. Paralegals are the right hand of
lawyers and law firms.
A similar debate aroused when computers were invented. Despite having computers,
we needed pen and paper to write exams. We need schools and teachers to teach
and train students. YouTube cannot inculcate values in a student. Technology has
definitely made everyone's life easier. However, the fact that people have made
technology cannot be ignored. People will be required at all stages to update
the technology. People can replace technology; technology cannot replace people.
The advancement of AI can only help paralegals to simplify their menial and
hectic work. It is never intended to replace the paralegals.
Laws for AI in India:
Laws are made when a system tends to pose a threat to the security and integrity
of the people and the nation. It is generally said that AI is at a very budding
stage today and that we are yet to create strong AI that could be just like a
human, and that'd be able to create other robots of its kind. Google is visited
about 89.3 billion times a month. Google has 91.9 percent of the market share as
of January 2022.
Google processes over 8.5 billion searches per day. Google Lens is used 8
billion times a month. According to a UBS study, ChatGPT is estimated to have
reached 100 million monthly active users in January, just two months after
launch, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history.[7] There
are other AI applications that are being extensively used by people to perform
their tasks easily and quickly. AI is used in call centers to answer calls and
talk to people in a customized manner. We can infer that AI is extensively being
used in our day-to-day life.
With the extensive usage of AI, comes the need to regulate advanced technology.
It may pose a serious threat to the privacy of the people. The AI algorithm may
misguide the users. For example, say Google has control over all our personal
and professional data. People have saved trade secrets and various other data on
their Google Drive that may destroy them if that kind of information is leaked.
AI is also being used in the medical field, where critical operations are being
conducted by robots. There are robot-assisted heart surgeries.
AI is now being used in courtrooms. Robots are being assigned as police officers
to look after the minor administration work. In 2019, Kerela Police inducted a
humanoid police robot into the force named KP- Bot.[8]
The first and foremost law that is needed to combat the repercussions of AI is
building a robust law to safeguard the privacy of people. In the EU, there is
the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to safeguard the privacy of the
people. India recognized privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the
Indian Constitution in 2017 in the landmark case of
Justice K.S. Puttaswamy
v. Union of India (AIR 2017 SC 4161). Since then, efforts have been made by
the Indian Government to make robust laws on privacy. The Personal Data
Protection Bill, 2019 is being analyzed by the Joint Parliamentary Committee.
However, these laws are needed to be amended and updated according to the rapid
spread and usage of advanced technology of AI.
The second most important law that is needed to be amended and updated as per
the usage of AI is the Technology and Media Law (TMT). False news and fake
content are being vastly spread on social media platforms. There are people who
unintentionally spread fake news. It is suspected that there are AI bots that
are used to make content and regulate them.
Recently, in the case of
Whatsapp LLC v. Union of India, before the Delhi
High Court, Whatsapp stated that tracing the first originator of fake content
might be impossible as this would breach the privacy of every individual to whom
the fake news has been sent.[9] With the extensive use of AI in social media,
the Information Technology Act, of 2000 needs to be amended to include AI
technology to combat the possible threats it poses in society.
The development of AI is going to change the paradigms of society in the near
future. There will be robots, in abundance, that could talk and work just like
human beings. Robots are arguing in the courtrooms like lawyers. The robots are
acting like medical professionals who analyze the disease and suggest
medications. The robots are actively participating in debates and presenting
valid and strong arguments.
There was an incident when a robot broke the finger of a person who won a chess
game against it. Recently, a robot called DoNotPay developed by a firm in
Chicago was seen presenting arguments in a courtroom just like an advocate. It
was later accused by a law firm of not having a lawyer's degree.[10] The day is
not far when robots would be an inseparable part of our society.
These robots will sit with us in the Bar Council examination and write exams
with us. There will be massive competition between the firms that manufacture
various kinds of technology. Various concerns will arise with regard to
Competition threats and sharing of patents.[11] Subsequently, all the laws would
be needed to be amended or interpreted with respect to AI.
Analysis of the usage of AI in the courtroom:
A courtroom is a place of decorum where the lawyers and the judges make the
application of laws, legislations, precedents, evidence, and facts to come to
ensure justice for the people. The court clerks, court masters, the paralegals
form an important part of the courtroom. Technology has eased the task of
lawyers and judges to compile the data collected from thousands of books and
papers in a paperless form. AI has aided paralegals, lawyers, and judges to
easily access the information available in thousands of books and cases in
minutes. Advanced AI is being used to do the job of court clerks. Paralegals do
the job of researching and arranging the stuff for the advocates.
The present debate going on between the advocates is whether AI would replace
the lawyers and the staff in the courtrooms. The possibility of AI bots
replacing lawyers is next to impossible. A lawyer has the apt knowledge and
specialization of laws. He listens to and understands his clients. He has
feelings and works with compassion in the best interest of the client. For
example, the symptoms, treatment, and home remedies of diseases are listed on
the internet. However, we still require the diagnosis of a doctor for
affirmation. Similarly, we have all the laws, legislations, and remedies
available on the Internet
Despite this, we need lawyers to understand our cause and help us get the
solution to our problems. An AI bot can never advise like an advocate. A person
may be a lawyer after studying law. But, feelings of empathy are what make a
person a good lawyer. A robot can have knowledge of the law. But, without
emotions, he is just the slave of written laws who could not think far from the
ambit of those provisions.
Paralegals and other court staffs are the personnel who aid the lawyers and the
judges to analyze and pass judgments. The one thing that every courtroom is very
particular about is the decorum and discipline of the court. It is the
professional ethics of a person in the court of law to respect seniority.
An AI bot can be trained to do so but without human feelings. Paralegals and
clerks guide the clients of the advocate and attend to them. When we ask Google
to search for precedent, it presents numerous websites. A paralegal on the other
hand could sort and get the exact case law in a much more arranged form. AI
might empower the paralegals in their hectic task of research. However, it might
never be able to replace humans. Moreover, it might enlarge the employment
opportunities for the people by giving them access to new technology.
There are people who prefer the conventional method of research. AI has eased
the hectic task of research. It has helped researchers, paralegals, and lawyers
to complete their tasks in minutes. It has given a wider and broader lens to the
personnel to look at and analyze a situation from every aspect. The newly
developed ChatGPT could prove to be of great help to legal professionals. It
could actively help in research, drafting, and summarizing long legal documents.
It can also assist lawyers in writing legal briefs. It has its own pros and
cons.[12]
Conclusion:
Building AI technology requires a lot of resources and effort. It is very
expensive. Some legal professionals state that such advanced technology would
take a lot of time to come to India. Justice Madan Lokur in his interview with
Bar and Bench stated that it is too early to say something about AI robots as
lawyers in India. He further mentioned that getting a robot to argue as a lawyer
is not easy at all. A lot of training is required to build a mind like that of a
lawyer, doctor, or any other professional.
However, the fact that AI is advancing to a great extent cannot be ignored. We
need to start taking baby steps to include AI in our legal system. We need to
make further amends and add the new technologies to the National Policy and
Action Plan for ICT in courtrooms. Proper and robust laws are required for the
regulation of AI. Moreover, amendments are to be made in every law so as to
accommodate the vastly expanding technology.
End-Notes:
- E-Committee Supreme Court of India New Delhi, National Policy and Action Plan for the implementation of Information and Communication Technology in the Indian Judiciary, 1st Aug 2005, https://main.sci.gov.in/pdf/ecommittee/action-plan-ecourt.pdf.
- E-Committee Supreme Court of India, E-courts Mission Project, (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Last updated- 9th Feb 2023) https://ecommitteesci.gov.in/project/brief-overview-of-e-courts-project/# (accessed 23rd Feb 23).
- All India Assn. of Jurists v. High Court of Uttarakhand, 2021 SCC OnLine SC 3336.
- Padmakshi Sharma, CJI DY Chandrachud's Strong Message To HC CJs: Don't Disband Hybrid Hearing Option, Technology Was Not Only For Pandemic Time, (LiveLaw, 13th Feb 2023) https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/cji-dy-chandrachud-expresses-anguish-at-hcs-disbanding-infrastructure-for-virtual-hearings-221460 (accessed 23rd Feb 23).
- Padmakshi Sharma, Supreme Court Utilises AI To Make Live Transcriptions Of Its Hearings, (LiveLaw, 21st Feb 2023) https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/supreme-court-ai-live-transcriptions-of-its-hearings-222108?infinitescroll=1 (accessed 23rd Mar 23)
- Shreya V., Can generative AI be a game-changer for the legal industry? Allen & Overy becomes the first law firm to partner with Harvey AI. (Bar & Bench, 17th Feb 2023) https://www.barandbench.com/news/corporate/allen-overy-becomes-first-law-firm-to-partner-with-harvey-ai?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-barandbench&utm_content=later-33126419&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkin.bio (last accessed, 29th Mar 23).
- Krystal Hu, ChatGPT sets record for fastest-growing user base - analyst
note (Reuters, 2nd Feb 2023) https://www.reuters.com/technology/chatgpt-sets-record-fastest-growing-user-base-analyst-note-2023-02-01/
(Last accessed, 31st March 23)
- Express News Service, Kerela Police gets
a robot to receive visitors (Indian Express, 20th Feb 2019) https://indianexpress.com/article/india/kerala-police-gets-a-robot-to-receive-visitors-5591998/
(Last accessed, 12th April, 23).
- Delhi High Court, Whatsapp challenges
Intermediary Rules, says traceability will break end-to-end encryption,
breach privacy; Union of India says no Fundamental Right is absolute (SCC Online, 27th May 2021) https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2021/05/27/del-hc-whatsapp-challenges-intermediary-rules-says-traceability-will-break-end-to-end-encryption-breach-privacy-union-of-india-says-no-fundamental-right-is-absolute/
(Last accessed, 12th April, 23).
- Stephanie Stacy, Robot Lawyer DoNotPay is being sued by a law firm because
it does not have a law degree (Business Insider India, 12th Mar 2023) https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/robot-lawyer-donotpay-is-being-sued-by-a-law-firm-because-it-does-not-have-a-law-degree/articleshow/98582794.cms
(Last accessed, 12th April, 23).
- KR Srivats, Digital Competition Act: MCA-appointed inter-ministerial panel
to begin deliberations (The Hindu, 19th Feb 2023) https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/digital-competition-act-mca-appointed-inter-ministerial-panel-to-begin-deliberations-on-feb-22/article66528480.ece
(Last accessed, 12th April, 23).
- Bhavya Bhatt, How can lawyers leverage ChatGPT for their practice? (Bar
and Bench, 28th Jan 2023) https://www.barandbench.com/law-firms/view-point/the-viewpoint-how-can-lawyers-leverage-chatgpt-for-their-practice?utm_source=website&utm_medium=related-stories
(Last accessed, 12th April 23).
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