Indian judiciary must stop panicking over AI
Indian courts are adopting AI, but responding with disproportionate fear and excessive procedural oversight instead of focusing on accountability.Summary
The integration of Artificial Intelligence into the Indian legal system is already underway, with tools like SUVAS and TERES being utilized for translation and transcription. However, the response from the judiciary has been marked by anxiety over potential errors, leading to calls for detailed audits and procedural safeguards. This approach is considered disproportionate, as the legal system has always acknowledged its own fallibility and relied on mechanisms of accountability and self-correction.
The article argues that the focus should be on strengthening existing institutional capacity and ensuring human oversight, rather than creating burdensome regulations. The fear of AI-generated errors is not new, as inaccuracies have always existed in legal research materials. The key is to hold users accountable for the accuracy and relevance of the work product, regardless of whether it was produced by a human or an AI.
Drawing a comparison to Singapore’s more streamlined approach, the authors advocate for a focus on outcomes rather than processes. The Indian judiciary should embrace AI as a tool to enhance, not redefine, justice, recognizing that the ultimate responsibility for decisions rests with human judges and that the system is equipped to handle and correct errors.
(Source：Theprint)
