"Artificial intelligence?" I was interested to hear a PhD candidate's research area at University College London in 1986, while I was doing my Master degree in law there. In 1991, I represented Hong Kong and participated in a WIPO Worldwide Symposium on the Intellectual Property Aspects of Artificial Intelligence at Stanford University. I learned the basics of expert systems and witnessed the international consensus that humans rather than robots should be the owners of copyright works generated with the help of artificial intelligence (AI).
Delivery of legal services have been tailor-made to fit the special needs of individual clients. AI and law are about the application of AI to legal informatics ie the application of the structure and properties of legal information by human actors eg lawyers, arbitrators or judges in law offices, tribunals or courts. AI enables machines to deliver services like humans and its operational programs can systematize effectively and efficiently some of the routine tasks eg settling the facts of a case and highlighting the legal research results on the relevant legal principles, rules, practice and procedures so that humans can focus on arguments, legal reasoning or dispute resolution.
AI's oversight programs can monitor its operational programs or even humans to ensure full consideration of the legal principles, rules, practice and procedures. While programs might not exhibit much free will and empathy, they should be objective, impartial and comprehensive in their service delivery eg in conceptualizing the properties of and relations between matters in a given legal domain and in predicting legal outcomes. In the final analysis, I believe human actors in the legal system would still have to be answerable, responsible and accountable for the outcome, particularly in the dispensation of criminal justice.
I believe applying AI in the legal environment can be effective and efficient in settling voluminous petty private sales of goods disputes. As an Arbitrator of the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration, I was excited to learn that the Court has been studying the feasibility of AI's application in alternative dispute settlement matters. With China's computing infrastructure, super-computing power, relevant talent and data, I believe it would not be long for me to issue AI-assisted arbitral awards!