
Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is revolutionising various sectors globally, from healthcare, finance, retail, manufacturing, transportation, entertainment, education and many more. Examples of AI are technologies that simulate human-like intelligence, such as virtual assistants, search engines, personalized applications, and so on and so forth. The integration of this technology is poised to bring about unimaginable benefits, such as enhanced efficiency and productivity across sectors. The legal profession is no exception to this. Legal tasks and activities such as research, streamlining management, and administration are quickly advancing, including automation and digitization. In the current legal landscape, it is difficult to pinpoint lawyers’ tasks that are untouched by AI! From the erstwhile manual tasks of evaluating complex legal sources, marketing and client servicing to a faster and quicker-paced- one-click solution – AI has already cemented its presence, heralding significant changes in the legal profession. This article briefly seeks to describe the exciting uses of AI in the legal profession while cautioning its stakeholders of the challenges and risks pertaining to AI from a governance perspective.
AI in Law: Game Changer or Gamble?
Recent developments in AI, especially generative AI, have increasingly transformed the legal profession. Generative AI (“GenAI”) refers to deep-learning models that can generate high-quality text, images and other content based on the data on which the GenAI has been trained. A prominent example of GenAI is ChatGPT, which has marked a turning point and is seen as a breakthrough in one of the largest language models. GenAI has myriad forms that can be used across the legal landscape from legal research to document automation and predictive legal analysis. Legal advice, being a sensitive and niche domain, is rapidly developing to include AI. One of the largest advantages of AI-driven tools is the manner by which copious amounts of data can be analysed and segregated- a task that was once required to be undertaken personally by a litigant/legal professional. AI is also seen in courts as a virtual court assistance tool. These are seen across jurisdictions, including India. On August 09, 2024, the Ministry of Law and Justice published a press release confirming that AI is being used by Indian courts in legal research and process automation. The press statement also mentioned that AI has also been deployed for transcribing oral arguments, statutes, acts and judgements in vernacular languages and that these will be available on official portals. Accessibility of legal information has also seen a steadfast increase. Subsequently, this has resulted in legal outcomes and analysis becoming a faster and more effective process.
The Complex Landscape of AI: Challenges and Risks
Though AI offers remarkable opportunities that could prove to have a significant influence on the legal landscape, there are challenges to its use, especially concerning accountability and ethics, which are integral to be examined carefully. The former Chief Justice of India cautioned that the integration of AI in modern processes raises complex ethical, legal, and practical issues that demand a thorough examination. AI thrives on data- the more data it has, the better it performs. Consequentially, one of the foremost concerns is privacy and data protection, as the use of data helps train and develop AI. Client confidentially is one of the strongest “virtues” of the legal profession. Securing a client’s data is of utmost importance to a legal practitioner. The use of AI involves data sharing, which may include not only the sensitive personal information of a client but also other confidential information regarding properties, businesses and financials, amongst others. Though AI might help in drafting an argument, the data to enable the algorithm to do so may require sensitive client information to be included. Consent from a client to share such data on an AI platform becomes mandatory. However, a platform may integrate third-party servers to provide desired results, which increases risks and threats to data security. Developers of GenAI platforms are striving to overcome these issues through better encryption mechanisms, authentication methods and blockchain mechanisms amongst others.
With the advances in AI and digitization, the type of data and the manner in which it is used to collect it has significantly increased. With the increase in the collection of data, a lot of which is personal data including coordinates and biometrics, amongst others, there is a significant increase in the risks associated with the use of data in AI. Data leaks, hacking, loss of finances, loss of personal data, etc., raise complex challenges concerning accountability.
Another concern regarding AI is that of discrimination. Algorithms for machine learning are trained using historical data, which may contain societal biases. AI could perpetuate and even exacerbate pre-existing discrimination in the legal system if these prejudices are not addressed. When data is incorrectly incorporated during the model’s training phase and where the internal workings of algorithms and systems are hidden from stakeholders, AI models tend to become redundant.
However, AI developers are striving to ensure that the models they develop mitigate these risks so that parties can use them comfortably.
The Way Forward: Navigating Innovation with Regulation
With the advent and rampant use of AI, there is an increase in the need for stringent laws that safeguard the interests of users and stakeholders. Data protection regulations, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), impose strict requirements for data handling, including Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) for AI applications processing personal data. GDPR mandates explicit informed consent from data subjects for data processing activities. Drawing inspiration from the global governance regime, India’s approach to data protection has evolved significantly in recent years. The current legal landscape is a patchwork of regulations, with the Information Technology Act 2000 serving as the primary legislation governing digital transactions and cybercrime. In a move to govern AI and data processors, the Government has introduced the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, which aims to protect the rights of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process such personal data for lawful purposes. The Niti Ayog has developed a set of principles that include principles of safety, equality, inclusivity, non-discrimination, privacy, security, transparency, accountability, and reinforcement of positive human values in the use of AI. While a legal professional may use AI to complement and assist their work, a lawyer’s expertise and experience, the human connection between a lawyer and a client, cannot completely be replaced by AI. When viewing the current legal landscape, it can be said conclusively that AI is an imperative part of the legal profession, and the future of AI will surely include terrific, mind-blowing advancements. With that, it is also to be reiterated that the drawbacks of using AI are to be reined in by effective regulations and frameworks that can be practised and enforced.