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59 Judges J. 1 (2020)
Artificial Intelligence in Our Legal System

handle is hein.journals/judgej59 and id is 3 raw text is: INTRODUCTION Artificial Intelligence in Our Legal System By Judge John C. Allen IV h e ju d ic ial p ro fessio n is, fo r th e most part, a reactive profession. Considering the extent to which court rules govern the conduct litiga- tion, the Rules of Judicial Conduct, and the foundational philosophy of providing litigants with an impartial arbiter that is unbiased, courts are restrained in how they may keep abreast of the evolving nature of technology and its implementation within our society. Courts are generally required to resolve disputes concerning new and untested technology without having the benefit of in-depth exploration that other professions would have avail- able. Instead, decisions are made based on the evidence propounded by the litigants, which by its nature is slanted to present a particular viewpoint favorable to the presenting party. Thus, a judge must sort through unknown territory to understand the substance of the material behind the controversy to make a fair ruling. This issue of The Judges' Journal is dedi- cated to providing readers a thorough, yet introductory, look at artificial intelligence (AI), the use of which is growing exponen- tially in our culture. The discussion begins with a thoughtful article from Attorney Michael Arkfeld that introduces us to the concept of Al and its legal and ethical con- siderations, first by providing a clear definition of Al and then by taking a com- prehensive look at the legal operations and ethics of how Al is used in our society. Fredric I. Lederer then examines the interaction between the judiciary and Al by first discussing the legal issues surrounding cases that involve Al and next by envision- ing how court administration would be affected by Al. Judge Paul Armstrong delves deeper into that topic by illustrating how Al is currently being used in the practice of law and how it can be effectively used in the administrative law arena. To further emphasize the potential of Al in the legal profession, Alan Carlson takes one of the more intense areas of law, family law and divorce, and explores how Al can provide productive solutions to inherent dif- ficulties in that field; although the author points out that technology like Al provides excellent tools but not a final resolution. Moving from the theoretical discussion of possibilities to the observations of current adoption, Judge Willie J. Epps Jr. and Jona- than M. Warren spotlight how Al is currently being used by corporations and within the legal community. Recently, the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association published a report, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning: Emerging Legal and Self-Regulatory Considerations, that seeks to address the legal and social issues surrounding the mass collection of data and the implications stemming from their use. John Villafranco, of Kelley Drye, provides an abstract of that report discussing the fun- damental relevance that the collection of big data has upon the development and implementation of artificial intelligence. While many of the authors express caution about the collection of data and responsible use of that data collection, this abstract delves deeper into the issue and provides relevant context into a subject that affects the legal profession and society at large, as the public conversation becomes more con- cerned with privacy and the importance of protecting this fundamental right. This issue leads with a Waymaker inter- view, a regular series of The Judges' Journal in which a member of the judiciary who has had a significant impact on the evolution of the judiciary is profiled. Judge John E. Sparks Jr. interviews retired Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan Jr., who led the effort to modernize the technology used by the state courts within Indiana, which is one among several notable accomplishments. Justice Sullivan's interview is a testament to the positive impact the judiciary can have on its community. Those of us who are fans of science fic- tion are well versed in the concept of artificial intelligence, whether the art is depicted by a semi-sentient computer on a starship-based television show or the litany of novels that fantasize about an all-knowing artificial mind that controls daily life. Cin- ema blockbusters like The Matrix or I, Robot (based on an Isaac Asimov short story col- lection) paint a bleak future where humanity is in peril of extinction. In most representa- tions, the literature explores the ethical and existential questions of integrating our soci- ety with another form of intelligence that was created by humanity. Now that artificial intelligence is in the continued on page 39 WINTER 2020 - judges' j.umal 1 Published in The Judges' Journal, Volume 59, Number 1, Winter 2020. © 2020 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

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