Judiciary's Use of AI 'Requires Caution and Humility,' Chief Justice Says in Report

Proponents of AI technology “tout its potential to increase access to justice, particularly for litigants with limited resources,” U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his annual year-end report on the state of the federal judiciary. For those who can’t afford a lawyer, “AI can help,” Roberts said in the report, released Sunday. “It drives new, highly accessible tools that provide answers to basic questions, including where to find templates and court forms, how to fill them out, and where to bring them for presentation to the judge -- all without leaving home.” But any use of AI “requires caution and humility,” Roberts added. One of AI's more "prominent" apps "made headlines" in 2023 for a "shortcoming" in which lawyers using the app submitted briefs with citations to nonexistent cases -- "always a bad idea." Rule 1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires litigants and the courts to seek the just, speedy and inexpensive resolution of cases, and many AI applications can “indisputably assist the judicial system in advancing those goals,” it said. As AI evolves, courts “will need to consider its proper uses in litigation.” In the federal courts, several judicial conference committees, including those dealing with court administration and case management, cybersecurity and the rules of practice and procedure, will be involved in that effort, it said: “I am glad that they will be.” Though Roberts predicts that human judges “will be around for a while,” he also anticipates, “with equal confidence,” that AI will "significantly" influence judicial work, especially at the trial level.