Law and justice in the age of AI

Over the next 50 years, lawyers will be tasked with ensuring that the benefits of AI are harnessed for the greater good of humanity.

Concerning everything from mortgages to romantic partners, AI is increasingly making our decisions for us. The most trivial aspects of our lives and even those far more critical are constantly subject to profiling that matches up to a certain offer, job or partner. With an ability to process vast amounts of data, AI is now heavily engaged in computing the law and automating society. It AI has already infiltrated areas where some of the most delicate decisions are being made, including work, healthcare, insurance, education, migration, crime prediction and even the administration of justice. 

The pace of technological change shows no signs of slowing and over the coming 50 years we will likely witness increased automation of our societies. Far more than simply being a tool or a service, AI looks set to underpin the very infrastructure on which our societies will run. While it presents immense opportunities for innovation and progress, it also brings with it significant risks and challenges that we lawyers must proactively address. 

Unlike humans, who hold deep-seated ideas regarding the outcomes of any decision they make, AI systems are theoretically unhindered by bias. Algorithms are deemed to be the true champions of objectivity. Indeed, by treating all equally, they should streamline processes, providing more time and space for meaningful activities. 

In reality, though, the innate stereotypes and biases held by programmers are being transferred to their algorithms. In practice, this means that the most vulnerable groups in society are being permanently excluded from valuable opportunities in an endless tailspin of segregation by statistics. Take, for instance, female candidates applying for a specific job role. They are likely to be downgraded in the automated decision making as AI treats pregnancy as an indicator of career discontinuity. Essentially, AI can exacerbate inequalities based on sexual orientation, educational background or even postcode. Driven by datasets that record previous decisions and patterns, AI systems learn from past wrongdoings and encourage further unfair choices, establishing new levels of injustice. 

From a legal perspective, existing guardrails such as anti-discrimination measures, procedural fairness, due process and accountability principles and accountability are now coming under increasing pressure and must be adapted and updated to tackle the challenges posed by AI. 

If we are to create a harmonious environment of human-centered technologies, we must reinvent the way highly uncertain and dynamic matters are regulated. We should embrace a participatory governance methodology that places citizens, workers and users at the heart of the design, deployment and development of emerging technologies. AI may well turn out to be a fundamental tool for growth and welfare, and for solidarity between genders, generations and geographies. It may yet aid the development of new skills and the renewal of production models. But all this will only prove beneficial to society if we are able to govern and deploy it with awareness, trustworthiness and accountability. 

Legal professionals will be tasked with nurturing a cross-disciplinary approach that intertwines skills traditionally belonging to separate, rarely interacting fields. A new generation of lawyers will have to embrace a deeper understanding of fundamental principles, institutions and values and distill them into new regulatory frameworks to craft an environment where AI is part of the solution to building societal good. A combination of rigor, discretion, vision and creativity will be lawyers’ superpower in the machine age.