Artifical intelligence has no heart, don’t use for judgments, says Madras HC judge

CHENNAI: Artificial Intelligence should not be used for writing judgments as it does not have a heart; a judge should have empathy and sympathy while delivering judgments, Justice PB Balaji of Madras High Court said while launching the book ‘Generative AI in the Courtroom’ here on Saturday.

Commenting on the book and the relativity of generative artificial intelligence in courtrooms, Balaji said no AI can replace a human mind; like AR Rahman’s music, no AI can compose like him.

He stressed that judges definitely should not use AI while writing judgments as they can make errors.

AI is a clear window and teaser into the future of judiciary and, this book, authored by Aspire K Swaminathan and advocate Anita Thomas, gives the solution to meet various challenges in the judiciary with the assistance of AI, the judge noted.

AI can definitely be useful in legal research, and it will be a clear winner for lawyers and judges, he added.

Expressing his concerns about the transparency and data bias challenges of the new technology, Justice Balaji called for its productive use.

“I believe AI doesn’t have heart, but a judge requires human mind, empathy and sympathy while delivering judgments especially in domestic violence cases,” he added.

The judge concluded his speech with the bottom line “We have to make AI work for us and not allow it to run us.”

One of the authors, Swaminathan, said complicated judicial processes have led to over 5 crore cases pending in several courts across the country. The book gives practical insights on how to effectively use AI in court processes --from filing petitions to accelerating judicial processes, he said.

Co-author Anita Thomas said AI is a tool which would be an alley and definitely will not replace lawyers, but the idea is to make lawyers more tech savvy and to help review large volumes of legal documents, she said.