Acceleration of procedures, analysis of case law, calculation of a prisoner’s risk of reoffending. The deployment of artificial intelligence will disrupt the functioning of justice in the coming years. The use of AI is already a reality for certain lawyers who use platforms like ChatGPT to write pleadings, conclusions or judgments, but the use of this type of technology can have perverse effects.
The DH surveyed a series of players in the legal world to gather their feelings regarding this new situation. Everyone is unanimous in saying that AI will never be able to replace the human work of a judge or a lawyer. On the other hand, divergent opinions concern the use of AI for substantive work on files. “It is obviously preferable to use a magistrate rather than an algorithm to perceive the sensitivity of the litigant,” explains penalty lawyer Michel Degrève. “On the other hand, if we introduce a human and emotional dimension into an artificial intelligence calculation, then the question of replacing the magistrate could arise. It’s certainly not what I want, but it can’t be ruled out.”
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On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine replacing the lawyer with an AI. “The lawyer must speak and convince orally. I don’t see robots taking our place. But for substantive work, it can be a formidable tool within certain firms when, for example, drafting pleadings. Provided of course that it is based on well-determined factors which are all introduced into a particular algorithm. If done intelligently, this can save significant time. It all depends on how we see AI: either as a complement, an instrument that is added to the role of the lawyer, or as the threat of replacement.he adds.
The observation is irrefutable: artificial intelligence will impose itself in our lives and become an essential tool. We must therefore understand it as best as possible by offering training, according to Denis Goeman, press magistrate of the French-speaking court of first instance in Brussels. “We must take this new technology into account and not reject it out of hand. Budgets should be released to benefit from training to best understand this new situation. This can save time at the basic level data and have an interest in analyzing case law or the doctrine of certain points of law provided you have reliable sources given that it is generated by algorithms”, he explains. “With AI, we also risk being confronted with images submitted to the court that are potentially artificial or manipulated. This will therefore have to be analyzed by experts to determine the veracity of the documents produced before the court.”
Regulating artificial intelligence before it regulates us
“The impact that AI can have on the functioning of justice is frightening.
Others view this new technology in a very negative light. “I am totally against the idea of automating justice. Justice is done by men for men, not by machines for men”, according to Stanislas Eskenazi. “The impact that AI can have on the functioning of justice is frightening. This opens the way for a procedure to be decided by a machine, an algorithm. Already with men, we have judicial errors but by automating court decisions, there will be even more. AI extrapolates a series of data and adapts it in a way that can become wrong. We have already removed part of the orality of the debates with more and more written procedures. I believe in the benefit of using AI for exact sciences, not for the human sciences.”
An opinion shared by lawyer Olivier Martins, who is more nuanced. “It is impossible for computers to judge human beings; that would be particularly worrying. Being revenge can be a tool for substantive work, for writing conclusions in the same way that students use AI to write practical cases during exams. But in the end, it is the man who must be in charge by conforming to his reasoning, and not by relying on the reasoning of a computer.”
The use of AI in the legal environment is already well established in other countries. Thus, in France, the Court of Cassation uses AI to direct appeals towards a short circuit if the solution is necessary or towards an in-depth circuit for more complex cases. AI is also used for “open data” publications of court decisions.
Artificial intelligence will not replace these professions anytime soon
The technology is being taken a step further in Estonia where AI will determine the guilt or not of people charged with minor offenses, which concern acts where the damages are below 7,000 euros. This is the first time that an artificial intelligence will be responsible for making an autonomous judgment.
AI used to track down drug traffickers
The Ministry of Justice uses artificial intelligence in organized crime cases.
Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt pleads in favor of artificial intelligence “in order to bring justice closer to the citizen.” But the use of AI is already a reality in cases of organized crime, such as during the dismantling of the Sky Ecc encrypted messaging platform.
“We called on an Antwerp company which provided a tool that uses artificial intelligence to review all these messages and highlight relevant cases on which investigators can work”, explains Julien Vandenborre, spokesperson for the minister. “Using smart technology, we completed work in a short time that would normally have required dozens of investigators over several years. And with results. Today, thanks to this company’s rapid processing of messages, we have already convicted more than a thousand major drug criminals in SKY investigations and hundreds of suspects are in custody.“
An investment, according to him, very profitable which must be put to the benefit of the police. “A police officer spends around 30% of his time at his office. He writes reports and carries out other administrative tasks. This represents almost two days a week. If, on the basis of bodycam images, we provide tools AI to write a first version of the tickets, which would then be checked and completed by the officers, then this would mean that we would instantly have 15% more blue on the streets, without having to hire an additional officer.”
An impact for 3.3 million Belgians
According to a survey by ING Belgium, 42% of Belgians believe that AI will lead to job destruction, but only 3% fear for their own jobs. “The rise of artificial intelligence has sparked a lot of discussion in recent months,” explains Charlotte from Montpellier, who founded the study. “Belgians do not yet know very well what they expect from the rise of AI. A significant increase in unemployment in Belgium is nevertheless unlikely, given the context of a shortage of workers and an aging population. “
Administrative staff will likely be most affected by AI, and job losses are likely in this category. Conversely, managers are highly exposed to AI, but are more complementary to the technology and therefore more likely to benefit from it.
When it comes to economic growth, Belgians are rather optimistic. Nearly a third of the population expects a positive impact on the country’s growth over the next five years. According to the study, we will have to wait a few more years for the rise in productivity to really be perceptible in Belgium. “Implementation processes rarely happen overnight, so the transformation of jobs will be gradual,” concludes Charlotte from Montpellier.
