Legal and Ethical Issues Related to the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Field of Justice

Abstract

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has created many opportunities in various areas of human life, such as facilitating healthcare and education, improving production processes and creating labour efficiencies, or enabling human connections through social media, to name a few. Even though AI technology can be of excellent service to humanity, it also risks embedding biases which result in discrimination and inequality, as well as violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, which, not surprisingly, raise numerous legal and ethical concerns. Given these issues, this paper endeavours to provide some insights into the application of artificial intelligence in the judiciary and to answer some questions which might be posed in this context: Are AI algorithms capable of simulating judicial decision-making? Can legal and ethical standards characteristic of the judicial function be maintained when AI tools are employed in the field of justice? The main highlights of the paper refer to the shaping of the legal framework in the AI area, compliance with ethical guidelines and recommendations, and risks and biases created and embedded by AI algorithms, as well as the issue of transparency towards both parties and the public, and in the area of AI algorithmic reasoning and methods. The paper concludes with some examples of national case law from courts’ decisions on AI from five EU Member States, which provide specific case background for the issue in question.