The Bright but Modest Potential of Algorithms in the Courtroom

Abstract

This chapter investigates the potential of algorithms and machine learning (ML) to improve decision-making. It considers the best roles for algorithms while maintaining important elements of human judgment. There are essential human skills in judging, but algorithms could help systematize the judicial function and thus reduce the risk of human error, inconsistency, and individual bias. Algorithmic decision-making and ML could in principle mitigate these problems since algorithms are more consistent and rely on and can synthesize more data than a human. Yet, recent proposals to use algorithms in the civil justice system are still underdeveloped and face scepticism. This chapter evaluates the risks and benefits of using algorithms in adjudication by pointing out specific elements of legal skill and expertise and identifying tasks better suited for an algorithm. While there are significant reliability and fairness limitations in using AI to make legal decisions, it is important to recognize that many of these weaknesses already exist to varying degrees in human judicial decision-making.

Automatic Resolution of Domain Name Disputes

“…WIPO documents are relatively consistent in formatting and content between cases, similarly to the ECtHR documents, e.g., which follow a rigid format. The WIPO documents are generally more consistent than other legal cases, in which there is a significant issue for NLP techniques, as discussed by Higgins et al (2020).…”