COURTGPT AND THE FUTURE OF LAW: WILL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE STRENGTHEN OR SHADOW JUSTICE?
- SUBIKSHAA R
- Oct 7
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 17
“ TECHNOLOGY IS A USEFUL SERVANT BUT A DANGEROUS MASTER ”
AI in Indian Courts: A New Era
It is evident to all of us that AI has already entered the Indian Judicial sphere. The Supreme Court uses AI tools to transcribe hearings and translate judgments, which enables reduction in mundane delays and facilitates speedy relief. According to a report in Moneycontrol, this step denotes something novel, describes a future that was once never envisioned.1
In the words of Justice Hima Kohli of the Supreme Court, AI should not be feared but embraced to improve the quality of legal practice, especially in areas like document review & legal research.2
CourtGPT and The Risks of Legal Hallucinations : Ensuring ethical AI use in judicial processes :
Despite its promise, AI is not without its potential dangers. In Western Australia, a lawyer unknowingly submitted court documents with fake case citations generated by AI, leading to legal action and media backlash. A similar issue occurred in Mata v. Avianca (USA), where lawyers were sanctioned for filing motions citing fictional case law. Further research introduces us to the term and concept ‘legal hallucinations’. It simply means that not all that AI shows us is the reality. AI models often produce confident but incorrect interpretations of data which will endanger justice if used without verification. It might sound simple to say that out of 10 case laws 3 case laws were incorrectly generated, but such generation poses huge amount of threat to the reality of things, which if followed blindly will result in miscarriage of justice. One wrongly generate case law for one life is a threatening ratio.
Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud has rightly emphasized that AI brings both “opportunities and challenges” to courts. Thus the future of AI in judiciary lies in, AI serving as a supportive tool rather than a substitute for human legal judgment.3
Real-world Value for Students and Legal Professionals:
AI tools also offer value in legal education. Law students can use it for case briefings, mock arguments & understanding complex judgments. For students and young lawyers, it helps in enhancing drafting speed and research accuracy. However, to reiterate the reality of it boils down to verifying everything before use, as courts hold legal professionals accountable for any misinformation, even if generated by AI. 4
Conclusion:
AI in judicary reflects a major shift in how justice systems may function in the future. It promises speedy relief, improved legal access by its assistance through research tools. But it also demands caution, ethical boundaries and most importantly of all, proper and keen human oversight. As future lawyers and as an human with responsibility towards our fellow humans, we must be ready not just to use AI-but to delineate its role wisely.
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