The International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH), along with NALSAR, have recently hosted an event involving the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in India’s Legal and Judicial System. An exclusive gathering was arranged to address and discuss how AI can help solve existing challenges and opportunities in the Law industry. Highly respected law firms, policy think tanks, NALSAR faculty, IIITH faculty and tech startups were present, in order to debate the scope of AI as a contributory tool in the practice of law, ensure due process of law, enable AI to potentially practice law, and enable AI in delivering judgements.
This Roundtable meeting was chaired by the Vice Chancellor of NALSAR University, Prof. Srikrishna Deva Rao and the Director of IIITH, Prof. P J Narayanan. The discussion revolved around the problems, solutions, restrictions and technology issues encountered. Panelists identified that AI can be applied in various aspects of legal research, document and content discovery, contract drafting and review processes. With Natural Language Processing (NLP) aiding legal professionals in understanding the substance and effects of keyword searches and contract language.
At the session, Prof. Srikrishna Deva Rao emphasized the need to provide education and resources that bridge the gap between legal and technical professionals. He believed that technology can enhance justice overall, albeit not replacing human jurisprudence. He proposed that legal experts should be equipped with knowledge in programming, data science, AI, and Machine Learning to uphold their practice. He also concluded the importance of legal accountability for any AI applications employed in the legal system.
Prof. P J Narayanan initiated the session by visualizing a world where the AI tech industry stands in partnership with the legal world. He recalled the concern of F.C. Kohli on backlogs in the Indian court systems, as well as the vast differences in the legal field. He acknowledged the contribution of AI systems in aiding the legal process, but advised being vigilant of the bias and potential harm from AI-involved systems.
Following the conference, a white paper detailing the findings of the event will be published, while IIITH Hyderabad and NALSAR are expected to collaborate in academic and research projects, to teach lawyers and engineers how to work together.
IIITH Hyderabad is an autonomous research university that researches Information Technology and various corresponding applications in various domains, such as Visual Information Technology, Human Language Technology, Data Engineering, Wireless Communications, Algorithms and Information Security, Robotics, Building Science, Earthquake Engineering, Computational Natural Sciences, Bioinformatics, Education Technologies, Power Systems, Quantum Computing, Quantum Information, IT in Agriculture and e-Governance.
Prof. Srikrishna Deva Rao is the Vice Chancellor of NALSAR University, and is a leader in the legal field with his influence in the Supreme Court of India, Telangana High Court and various courts of appeal. He has vast experience in the legal field, handling more than five thousand cases in high courts and courts of appeal, as well as presenting judgements at national and international conferences, amongst other achievements.
