What AI can do for the judiciary, what it can’t

‘We have seen our morphed pics too,’ said former Chief Justice of India BR Gavai last year. It was a humorous yet striking admission: Even judges are no longer insulated from the distortions of the digital age.

- Insiyah Vahanvaty and Ashish Bharadwaj

With Artificial Intelligence (AI) already embedded in legal systems across the world, AI in courts is no longer a speculative question. It is used for research, translation, case management, transcription, and drafting assistance. The Supreme Court recently launched Su Sahay, an AI chatbot linked to the ‘One Case One Data’ initiative aimed at streamlining judicial information. The question now is how deeply AI will enter the judicial system.

The case for AI is compelling. Indian courts are overburdened to the point of dysfunction. AI can organise documents swiftly and save time on administrative tasks. But it remains fundamentally a predictive technology, built on identifying patterns in data. Judicial work, however, often requires courts to break with patterns — to protect minorities against majorities, individuals against the State, and rights against convention. Judges are constantly balancing competing human realities of liberty and security, equality and tradition, punishment and mercy. AI can efficiently handle the drudgery of administration, but not judicial deliberation.