“Intelligent Justice”: human-centered considerations in China’s legal AI transformation

Abstract

In recent years, the Chinese government and its judiciary have made a policy decision to leverage artificial intelligence in broader judicial reform efforts. The push to use AI to such a large extent in the judiciary is unique to China, influenced by chronic challenges facing the courts, including an exponential increase in casework and a shortage of qualified professionals in the judiciary. This has resulted in a number of pilot programs across the country that have produced various AI systems embedded in different areas of the judicial system. Some of these systems aim to make rote processes, such as transcription and document review, more efficient, while other more ambitious projects attempt to directly assist in the decision-making process. This piece briefly summarizes the current landscape of China’s technology-driven judicial reform and highlights a number of key considerations that we believe are pivotal to whether China’s investment in AI will succeed in improving the efficiency and legitimacy of the courts.