Introducing AI in the legal sector

In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), Artificial Intelligence (AI) is hailed as one of the most significant advancements in technology. John McCarthy coined the term in 1956. Artificial Intelligence is also known as cognitive computing. 

Technopreneurs worldwide have been experimenting with AI applications in various fields due to their phenomenal and convenient futures. Some of the most potential AI applications include Apple's Siri, Tesla's automatic vehicles, Amazon's Alexa, Cogito's phone conversation analysis and real-time guidance and Google translation. In recent times, ChatGPT has become the most hyped AI application.

People are embracing AI because it can think and make decisions. As a result, it is slowly making its way into various professions. The legal field has not been excluded from it.

In 1961, Reed C. Lawlor, a patent attorney from California and the then chairman of the American Bar Association's electronic data retrieval committee, predicted that computers would be able to analyse and forecast the results of judicial decisions. As 'soft AI' in the legal industry is widely used in industrialised economies, his prediction of a legal future powered by AI applications is quite close to reality. 

In 2016, researchers at the University of Sheffield and the University of Pennsylvania used the AI technique to anticipate the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) decisions with a 79% accuracy rate.

According to various research on court judgment prediction conducted in the USA, legal experts were accurate in anticipating such instances by 66%. However, it is also true that it cannot replace human judgment. But even the possibility of helping the court with minor disputes is a lot. 

This is because AI applications are usually designed to learn how to discover relevant data, recognize errors and notice inconsistencies in a manner that is efficient, accurate and fast. These factors are very important for lawyers. Luminance Diligence, LexisNexis and Kira are examples of a few AI applications to help in legal and business professions. 

In the case of Bangladesh, we cannot introduce Ai to the legal sector yet. But it is necessary to bring AI into the legal sector as soon as possible as it could prove to be a game-changer.

Anisul Huq, the law minister, presented figures in the Parliament on June 18, 2019, stating that there are currently more than 35.82 lakh cases waiting in both higher and lower courts across the country. Considering the population of Bangladesh, it is safe to predict that the actual figure is higher.

One of the reasons for the pending cases is that lawyering involves excruciating hours of analysis, diving a massive amount of legal paperwork, research, reading and writing. For the same reason, legal professionals are already using AI features in many situations across the world. Among the roles assigned to AI would be doing due diligence activities, legal research, reviewing documents and contracts, contract analysis and other things.

AI will not only simplify the life of legal professionals but also help the people who seek legal aid. Considering Bangladesh's notorious case backlog, lawyers will be in a better position to offer their full support in resolving cases if AI is introduced. This will also lighten the load on both the lower and higher courts. 

It is often feared that AI would significantly reduce the need for lawyers. It may give the impression that doing so would result in financial savings since fewer lawyers could be required to develop solutions and identify errors. This concern that AI would replace lawyers seems to be a typical and unfavourable response to the idea of introducing technologies in any sector.

For instance, a 1950 census revealed that over 270 professions would become utterly obsolete if robots were introduced in the USA. However, it turns out that only the lift operator job has been entirely abolished in the last 60 years. On the other hand, automation has dramatically improved performance in other occupations.

Consistency, accuracy, cost-effectiveness and timeliness can all be improved through automated decision-making in the public sector as well.

The government has started automation processes at various scales in numerous sectors, including the legal and judicial systems, with the vision for a Digital Bangladesh. 

The decision-makers must immediately deal with specific and apparent issues. Relevant data, that is, different forms of legal materials, should be digitalised for improved functioning and performance. Another significant issue is the language because Bangla is still the primary language of many judicial documents and is still widely used in lower courts. Using the method of natural language processing might resolve the issue. If it can be implemented properly, introducing AI in the legal sector can accomplish the vision of Digital Bangladesh in the true sense.

Md Fahmedul Islam Dewan is an alumnus of the prestigious DLA Piper Scholarship and an apprentice lawyer of the Dhaka Bar Association.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.