AI should be used for augmenting lawyers' capabilities: SC

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the field of law should be a tool for augmenting lawyers' capabilities and not for automating the profession, Supreme Court judge Justice A K Sikri said today.
Justice Sikri said Artificial Intelligence facilitates an advocate to become more efficient in discharging his duties but cannot take the place of a lawyer as advocacy is a matter of emotions and human empathy.
"When research is concerned, it's good...but there are certain aspects of legal profession when it comes to lawyers and judges such as delivering justice by the judge. In most of the cases, some of the commercial cases apart, the factors of human empathy, equity, sense of justice, emotions those would remain.

"Of course, cases are to be decided on the basis of what the law is. But when comes to sentencing, we talk about the mitigating and aggravating factors. It all happens at the time of advocacy in the court," Justice Sikri said while delivering the keynote address during the launch of a legal-tech venture 'Legitquest', a website aimed at making lawyering simpler.
The website, which has eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani as its patron, has developed a one-of-its-kind go-to platform for legal fraternity to research efficiently by providing access to vast and comprehensive legal database to users.
"When we talk of Artificial Intelligence, it is in various fields where it is going to help like research. It helps not only in the research but in finding what the law is but right from the beginning where the problem comes, how it is to be solved, how it is to be tackled, and how the digital data can help us," Justice Sikri said.

"AI is becoming a tool of automation, taking the place of lawyer. Instead it should be used for augmentation, that it facilitates a lawyer to become more efficient in discharge of his duties," he added.
The developers claim that it's the world's only segregation system which provides user with decision, reasoning, arguments and facts of the case law at a single point.
Former apex court judge Justice B S Chauhan, Delhi High Court judge Justice Ravindra Bhat and Jethmalani spoke at the event.